Scarlett Dragon
by cleotheo
Summary: As a single teenage mother, Hermione chooses to begin a new life in France, little realising the move will eventually bring her the happiness she longs for. However, the past can't be ignored forever and one day the past is going to catch up with both Hermione and her daughter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Scarlett Dragon is twenty chapters and split into two parts. Part one starts from just after school, while part two is set several years in the future. This story is set in a world where Voldemort is defeated shortly after his return at the end of fourth year, meaning the last few years at school took place without the war taking place.**

 **After recent reactions to my stories and the break I felt I had to take, I would just like to remind people that if they don't like the story, they don't have to read it. There is no need for rudeness from anyone. With that in mind, I just want to point out that this probably isn't a story for fans of Harry as in this one he is a bit of a git.**

 **For those interested in reading Scarlett Dragon, enjoy and updates will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays.**

* * *

 **Part One.**

There was a distinct shake to Hermione Granger's hands as she reached for the muggle pregnancy test. Hermione had graduated from Hogwarts barely a month ago, and now she was sat in the bathroom at home, waiting to see if she was going to become a mother.

"Please be negative, please be negative," She whispered as she slowly turned the test over to see the results.

When her eyes fell to the word 'pregnant' in the result box, she let out a sob as she dropped the test on the floor. Burying her head in her hands, she let herself cry for the stupid situation she had found herself in. Here she was, not even nineteen, and she was pregnant with her best friend's baby. Her life as she knew it was over, and what was worse was that her news was going to change things for so many other people as well. Because Hermione wasn't expecting a child with her boyfriend of six weeks, Ron Weasley. No, she was pregnant with Harry Potter's baby. Her best friend, Harry, who also happened to be back dating Ron's younger sister, Ginny Weasley.

Without even having to look at the rest of the result, Hermione knew she was ten weeks pregnant. Because ten weeks ago, she'd ended up in bed with Harry. At the time, Hermione hadn't started dating Ron. In fact she hadn't even been sure if she'd wanted to change their friendship and take a chance on a relationship. Harry, meanwhile, was on another break with Ginny. The pair had started dating back in Harry's sixth year, when Ginny was only a fifth year, but their romance was rocky and they spent more time apart than they did together. Ten weeks ago, Harry and Ginny hadn't been together for a couple of weeks, and Harry was adamant that it was the end, there was no way back for them. However, they were now back together and happier than ever.

Hermione still wasn't sure how she'd ended up in bed with Harry, but until she's first suspected she was pregnant, she hadn't regretted the night they'd spent together. The sex had been amazing, and because they were already friends, there had been no awkwardness between them. Of course, they'd both known it was a one off, as too many people would get hurt by them getting together permanently. Even though Harry had been adamant he wasn't going to get back together with Ginny at the time of their night of passion, he hadn't wanted to hurt her by moving on so quickly with Hermione. Hermione hadn't wanted to hurt Ron by choosing his best friend over him, something which she'd come to appreciate as she'd since decided to give Ron a chance as a boyfriend and things were going well for them.

At least things were going well for them, but Hermione knew all that was about to change now she was pregnant. Like it or not, she and Harry would have to come clean about their night together. True, people were going to be upset at their news, but they'd hadn't cheated on anyone. It was before she got together with Ron, and Harry wasn't with Ginny at the time. In fact, Hermione knew that while Ginny and Harry had been apart during their last split that Ginny had been sleeping with Theo Nott.

Picking herself up off the floor, Hermione checked the test one more time, before she threw it into the bin. She then quickly got herself a wash and returned to her room to change. Leaving a note for her parents, letting them know she might not be back that evening, Hermione set off to The Burrow. When she arrived at the Weasleys house, she found Molly Weasley was alone in the kitchen.

"Hi, Molly," Hermione greeted. "Where is everyone?"

"Ron and Ginny have just popped down to the village to get some dessert," Molly answered. "I think Harry's upstairs preparing."

"Preparing for what?" Hermione asked.

"Didn't you hear, he's got a trial for the Falmouth Falcons next week," Molly answered with a large smile.

"That's great," Hermione replied. "I'll just go up and see him."

Molly nodded as she turned back to her dinner preparations. Taking a deep breath, Hermione hurried up the stairs to Ron's room, which was where Harry always stayed when he was at The Burrow. When she entered Ron's room, she found Harry sorting through his clothes, obviously deciding what to wear for his trial.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Hermione said as she leant against Ron's ancient desk.

"Thanks," Harry replied with a grin. "Can you believe, I've actually got a trial next week?"

"I can actually," Hermione answered. Harry had been by far the best seeker at Hogwarts, and with Voldemort taken care of a couple of years ago, he'd been able to spend the last two years honing his game and turning himself into the best quidditch player at Hogwarts.

"Have you made any decisions about your future yet?" Harry asked.

Hermione was currently mulling over her options, after acing all her exams. She had personal offers of employment from several departments at the Ministry of Magic, as well as several private firms, ranging from potions companies to libraries and museums, and even a curse breaking firm.

"I've narrowed down my options," Hermione replied. To be honest, she'd stopped searching through her job offers when she suspected she was pregnant. Right now, she couldn't even contemplate picking a job until she'd sorted something with Harry and the baby.

"Do you want to tell me about them?" Harry asked. "Maybe I could help you narrow them down further."

"There's something else I want to talk to you about first," Hermione said with a sigh. Walking over to where Harry was standing, she took hold of his hand and sat down on the bed, pulling his down with her. "It's about what happened before we left Hogwarts."

"Don't," Harry interrupted, giving Hermione a sad shake of his head. "I know what happened was amazing. The sex was the best I've ever had, but it was a one off. I can't give you what you want, Hermione. I'm with Ginny. I love Ginny."

"I know all that, Harry," Hermione said. "I'm with Ron, and I'm happy with him."

"Then let's forget about that night," Harry said as he stood back up. "Let's just leave it in the past."

"That's the thing, Harry, I can't just forget about it," Hermione said. "I'm pregnant."

Harry whirled back round to face Hermione, and she could see the genuine shock and horror etched onto his face. "Pregnant," He repeated in a hollow voice.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "And please don't insult me by asking if it's yours. I'm not a tart, Harry. I know who the father of my baby is."

"This can't be happening," Harry muttered as he roughly yanked his fingers through his unruly hair. "You can't be doing this to me."

"It's not like I planned this, Harry," Hermione snapped back. "We were obviously just careless."

"No, this isn't real," Harry moaned. "You're going to wreck my life."

"Excuse me?" Jumping to her feet, Hermione spun Harry around and gave him a slight shake. "Don't you dare put the blame on me. We were both involved that night. We made this baby together."

"Baby?"

Harry and Hermione both whirled round at the cry from behind them, and found Ginny and Ron standing in the doorway. Both Weasleys were staring at Harry and Hermione in horror, and tears were pooling in Ginny's eyes.

"What's going on?" Ron asked in a hoarse voice, and Hermione could tell he was seconds away from snapping and losing his temper.

"My life is ruined," Harry wailed. "One moment of weakness. On night of temptation, and I've lost everything."

"Stop whining, Harry," Hermione snapped. "Grow up and take some responsibility."

"And just what is he taking responsibility for?" Ginny asked in a whisper.

"I'm sorry Ginny, but you weren't together at the time," Hermione apologised. "It was a one off, and will never happen again."

"You slept with her?" Ginny spat, turning her attention to Harry. "You shagged my best friend."

"Yeah, well, you were doing Nott," Harry shot back. "You're no angel, Ginny."

Ginny glared at Harry, before she turned back to Hermione. "And now you're pregnant."

"I am," Hermione replied with a nod.

"Tart," Ginny hissed as she rushed forward and before Hermione could react, she'd slapped the brunette witch in the face.

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologised again as she rubbed her cheek. "But as I said, you and Harry had split up. We didn't cheat on anyone."

"And what am I, mashed bananas?" Ron snorted.

"It was before we got together, Ron," Hermione said. "This doesn't have to affect us. We can still be together."

"After this?" Ron shot Hermione a disgusted look and she could see how much he hated her at the moment. "I wouldn't touch you if you were the last witch alive. We're over, Hermione. I want nothing more to do with you."

"Ron, please don't," Hermione cried as her boyfriend turned and stalked down the stairs.

"Leave him," Ginny ordered when Hermione went to chase after Ron. "Ron's right. We need to cut you out of our lives. Get out of this house and never return."

"Harry." Hermione turned to her friend, hoping that he was going to dive in and say something.

"Sorry, Hermione," Harry muttered, turning away and looking out of the window.

"Seriously?" Hermione exploded. "I'm carrying your baby, and you're just going to stand there and let me walk out of your life."

"I didn't ask you to get pregnant," Harry shouted, turning back and glaring at Hermione. "I don't want a baby, Hermione. Get rid of it, for both of our sakes."

"I am not aborting my child," Hermione whispered, her arms wrapping around her stomach in an automatic protective gesture. "Please Harry, we need to talk about this like adults. You can't just bury your head in the sand and ignore this."

"I don't want a baby, Hermione," Harry insisted harshly. "You do what you want, but it has nothing to do with me."

"I'll go, but this isn't over," Hermione vowed.

As much as she wanted to stay and get Harry to see sense, she knew she was better off retreating for the moment. Hopefully once Harry had time to come to terms with her news and sort things with Ginny, he would be more reasonable and open to an adult conversation. Right now, all that was going to happen was that things would be said that could never be taken back, and Hermione had no desire to get involved in a slanging match.

Leaving Harry and Ginny in Ron's room, Hermione headed back downstairs, wondering if she could find Ron and try and talk to him. However, the second she stepped into the kitchen, Molly was right in her face.

"You heartless cow," Molly hissed. "Did you really have to wreck two of my children's lives? Wasn't it bad enough that you stole Ginny's boyfriend, but then you had to go and get involved with Ron and break his heart too. I always knew you couldn't be trusted. At least now you've shown your true colours and Ron and Ginny have seen you for the little tart you are. Now get out of my house, and never return."

Blinking back the tears at Molly's hurtful words, Hermione pushed past the Weasley matriarch and rushed out of The Burrow. The second she was out of the Weasleys back garden, she pulled out her wand and apparated home, where she collapsed onto the sofa in floods of tears as she thought about how she'd messed her entire life up.

Hermione was still on the sofa when her parents returned from work, and tearfully she told them the entire story. She told them all about her night with Harry, and how she was now pregnant. She told them about how it had wrecked her romance with Ron, and how he didn't want to know her. She also told them how Harry had lashed out and refused to even talk about the situation.

"Give it time, Hermione," Her mother, Jean, soothed as she hugged her daughter. "It'll all work out."

"How is it going to work out?" Hermione sniffed. "Ron hates me, as will the rest of the Weasleys, and I can't even get Harry to talk about the baby."

"I say you leave it for a few days, and then try to contact Harry," Her father, Richard, suggested. "He acted like a git today, and I would like nothing more than to give him a good hiding, but it must have also been a shock for him. Let him digest the news, and then try and approach him again."

"And what if he still won't talk about it?" Hermione asked.

"Then we'll deal with that if it happens," Jean replied. "No matter what happens, Hermione, you're not alone. Your father and I will be there for you, no matter what. We love you, and we are going to love our grandchild."

Hermione gave her parents a smile and managed to thank them before she headed off to bed for an early night. It helped to have her parents on her side, but what she really needed was Harry. How was she supposed to make any sort of decisions if Harry was refusing to deal with their situation? She would just have to hope that in a few days he was going to be more reasonable and they could have a serious talk. Maybe then, she could finally make some plans and think about her future. She needed to know what was happening, not just for herself, but for her baby. She needed to know if Harry was going to step up and take responsibility for his actions, or if she was going to be a single mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – Wow, what a response. I can't believe I've got over 200 followers/90 reviews/100 favourites in just one chapter. Thank you. There was a few reviews mentioned OOC characters, and given what's about to happen in this chapter I suspect I'll get a few more, so I'd thought I'd give my opinions on OOC characters and the thoughts I always have when I read reviews mentioning people being OOC (Be it on my own stories, or someone else's).**

 **Firstly, this is fan fiction, therefore in every single story the characters are going to be OOC as they're not written by the only person who can truly write the characters in their original form, and that is JKR herself. In all stories, characters are going to be OOC, whether it's just slightly different, or as with Harry in this story, a vast difference to how he was originally written. After all, considering I write about a couple who were never together in canon, everything I write from the second I start a story is OOC.**

 **Secondly, I've always believed that the fun of fan fiction is twisting characters in different directions and putting them in unusual situations. When I write I have no problem taking characters I normally like (as with Harry in this story, or other stories with Lucius) and portraying them in a less then flattering light if it fits the story. I also have no problems with portraying characters I detest (like Dumbledore and Molly) in a positive light in the right story.**

 **Thirdly, I do believe classing a character as OOC is all down to people's initial interpretation of a character. My thoughts and feelings about characters in the Harry Potter universe will differ from other people's. For example - some people (like me), believe that Dumbledore was a manipulative person who was every bit as dangerous and as much of a villain as Voldemort, but other people see him in a more positive light. There's plenty more examples I could use of different views people have on characters, (Like the Weasleys, and even Draco himself), but I would be on all day if I did that. Then there are the characters that didn't really get a personality in the books (I'm thinking along the lines of Blaise, Daphne, Theo and even Charlie). For those people everyone has their different views about them and what they're like. I know I do, and in ninety percent of the stories I write, those characters are written pretty much the way I chose to portray them when I started writing (although as with everyone else I use, I'm not opposed to changing them and making them do things that in most stories I wouldn't dream of have them doing if it fits with a particular story).**

 **Anyway, this is all just my opinion and I'm sure other people will see it differently, but given a few people brought up the OOC thing in reviews, I just wanted to share my thoughts. But if anyone reading this feels they can't read about Harry in this light, then I'm certainly not going to be offended if they don't read the story. This story happens to be one of my favourite ones that I've written, and even if in the end only a few other people like it, then that's okay. I write for my own pleasure and as long as I'm happy with what I produce, I will keep writing and keep posting for all the wonderful people who for some reason seem to like what I write.**

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"Are you sure you don't want your father or myself to stick around today," A worried Jean Granger asked her daughter.

Hermione was getting ready for a visit from Harry. It had been nearly three weeks since she'd informed him of her pregnancy, and it had taken Hermione that long to get him to agree to talk to her again. Hermione had initially given him a few days to come to terms with things, but after that she'd tried every day to get him to talk to her. In the end he'd agreed to visit Hermione at home, although all three Grangers suspected it was just to get her to stop going round to The Burrow in an attempt to get him to speak to her. Also while she'd been trying to talk to Harry, she'd tried to reach out to Ron, but the redhead had made it clear he never wanted to see her again.

"I'll be fine, Mum," Hermione insisted. "Besides, things will probably be easier if we're alone."

"She's right, Jean," Richard said to his wife. "We need to give them some space to discuss things. Hermione knows where we are if she needs us."

"I do," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "Seriously Mum, I've got your work details. If I need you, I'll give you a call."

"Just make sure you do," Jean insisted. Giving her daughter a quick peck on the cheek, she headed off to get her coat and bag.

Richard rolled his eyes at his wife's retreating back as he also gave Hermione a peck on the cheek. "Don't let Harry push your around," He whispered to his daughter. "Stand up for what you want to do. At the end of the day, you're the one who has to cope with a pregnancy and giving birth."

"Don't worry Dad, I know exactly what I want," Hermione replied. The previous three weeks had involved a lot of soul searching, but Hermione had made some decisions about her future that wouldn't change no matter how her talk with Harry went. "To be honest, I just want Harry to accept some responsibly. He can't keep burying his head in the sand as though this isn't happening."

Richard nodded, although Hermione noticed he didn't voice his opinions. The previous week, Hermione had overheard her parents discussing her situation, and her father had been less than complimentary about Harry. In fact, Hermione actually thought that if they came into contact any time soon, her father would be likely to make sure that Harry was unable to father any more children.

Once her parents had gone, Hermione finished getting ready and sat down to wait for her best friend to arrive. To be honest, Hermione was coming to accept that she would no longer be calling Harry her best friend, in fact she doubted she would even be calling him a friend after their meeting. Even if he was ready to do the right thing and take responsibility for what they'd done, she knew their friendship was likely ruined forever, just like her relationship with Ron was. Hermione had tried speaking to Ron, but he just wouldn't listen to her. It didn't seem to matter that her fling with Harry was before they got together, he still acted as though she'd cheated on him. Sadly, Hermione had come to realise that she'd lost the two people she was the closest to in the wizarding world. All she could hope now was that Harry did the right thing and offered her his support.

When the time for Harry's agreed arrival came and went, Hermione began to think that he wasn't going to show up. In fact, she was just thinking that his agreement to even see her had just been a way to get her to stop bugging him, when the doorbell rang. Checking the time as she got to her feet, Hermione saw that it was half an hour past the time Harry was due to arrive, so wasn't going to get her hopes up about who was at the door.

Fortunately, it was Harry at the door, however as he brushed past Hermione and into the house it became clear to the brunette witch that it wasn't going to be a good meeting. Still, she tried to be friendly and offered Harry a drink.

"Let's just get this over with," Harry said, refusing the offer of a drink.

"Okay," Hermione replied, slightly taken aback by the coldness in Harry's tone. She hadn't expected things to be the same as usual between them, but she hadn't expected him to be so cold and aloof. "I'm sorry about bugging you these last few weeks, but we can't just ignore what's happening."

"I know," Harry admitted with a frustrated sigh. "You're right, Hermione, I was burying my head in the sand and refusing to acknowledge what was happening."

"I know it must have come as a bit of a shock," Hermione said.

"You can say that again," Harry muttered under his breath.

"At least now we can talk about things," Hermione continued. "I know things aren't going to be easy, but at least we can work this out together."

"There is nothing to work out, Hermione," Harry interrupted. "I tried ignoring the situation, but as Ginny pointed out, that wasn't solving anything. So I sat down and thought about what I want."

"And what is that?" Hermione warily asked, not sure if she was going to like the answer Harry was going to give.

"Ginny," Harry answered. "Simply put, Ginny is what I want. I've signed a contract with The Falcons, so my career is sorted. I proposed to Ginny last week, and the second she leaves school next summer we're getting married."

"That's all very nice for you, but where does that leave our child?" Hermione questioned.

"That's the thing, Hermione. There is no place is my life for a baby," Harry said. "Any children I have will be with Ginny, not you. I don't want a baby. I don't want to be a father."

"Isn't that just tough, because like it or not, you are going to be a father," Hermione retorted sharply.

"No, I'm not," Harry said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an envelope. "Today will be the last time I see you, Hermione. We've all agreed, and we want you out of our lives. I'm sorry things have ended this way, but it's the way things have to be."

Hermione frowned in confusion as Harry handed her the brown envelope. Tearing it open, her confusion turned to horror as she took in the contents. Inside the envelope was a bundle of muggle bank notes, possibly a couple of thousand by Hermione's reckoning. And tucked neatly beside the money was a leaflet for a private abortion clinic in muggle London.

"I've done some research, and this place is supposed to be the best," Harry explained. "I thought the muggle world would be more discreet than going to St Mungo's. Obviously, I can't be there with you, but the money will pay for the procedure. In fact, there'll probably be some left over so you can treat yourself to a nice holiday to recover."

"A nice holiday," Hermione snarled as she stuffed the money and the leaflet back inside the envelope and thrust it roughly into Harry's chest. "Do you really think a holiday makes up for what you're suggesting? You're a monster, Harry. You come in here and give me money to get rid of my baby, and then you try to make it all right by trying to buy me off. Well, I'm not having any of it. I will not abort my child, and I cannot believe you thought I would. Get out of my house, now."

"This really is for the best, Hermione," Harry said wearily as he got to his feet, sliding the envelope down the side of the sofa as he did so. "I'm walking away now, so if you keep the baby, you'll be on your own. I mean it when I say, I have no intention of becoming a father to your child."

"Believe me, my child will be better off without you in their life," Hermione snapped angrily, as she pulled out her wand and pointed it in Harry's direction. "Now leave, before I do something you'll regret."

"I'm going, but think about what I've said," Harry said. "Getting rid of the baby is the best thing all round. If you get the abortion, we can all be happy and move on. You never know, in time Ginny and Ron might forgive you and we can all become friends again."

"I am not interested in ever being friends with any of you again. Now get the hell out of my house," Hermione snarled.

With Hermione's wand still pointing in his direction, Harry beat a hasty retreat. Hermione watched her former friend disappear from her life and she cursed herself for ever getting involved with him. She'd sorely misjudged Harry, as she'd never for one minute thought he would be capable of such cruelness. Although, it could possibly be Ginny, Ron and Molly's influence on him. For all Hermione knew, they could have told him to make sure she got rid of the baby or else they would cut all ties with him. Not that it made any difference to Hermione, whatever the reason, Harry had showed his true colours and Hermione knew she and her baby would be better off without him in their lives.

When Hermione returned to the front room and spotted Harry's envelope stuffed down the side of the sofa, she let out an angry cry as she plucked the envelope from its hiding place and slung it onto the table. Part of her wanted to send the money back to Harry, but that would mean either going to The Burrow or going to Diagon Alley to use a post owl, and she really didn't feel like leaving the house. Instead she left the envelope on the table, and it was still there when her parents returned home a few hours later.

"I can't believe the cheek of that bastard," Richard fumed, when Hermione told him the full story of what had happened with Harry. "I'd like to take this bloody money and stick it where the sun doesn't shine."

"As tempting as it is, I'll just send it back to him," Hermione said with a shrug.

"Are you sure, Hermione?" Jean questioned. "There's two and a half thousand pounds here, it could come in handy with the baby."

"I don't want a penny of Harry's money," Hermione said firmly. "And before you suggest putting it into an account for the baby when it's older, I don't want to do that either. Harry made his feelings very clear this afternoon. The baby and I don't matter to him, so I will not take his money, either to help me now or for the baby when it's older."

"We could always give it to charity," Richard suggested with a slight smirk. "Let's face it, if we return the money Harry will only spend it, probably on the horrid little Weasley girl. This way, some use will come of the money."

"Fine," Hermione said with a nod. "We can give it to charity. I just want the money and that awful leaflet gone."

"I've already got plans for the leaflet," Richard assured his daughter. "Anyone up for a barbecue this evening? I've got the perfect kindling to start the fire."

Hermione chuckled at her father, and his attempt to cheer her up. However, she knew she now had some big decisions to make. She'd already decided to keep the baby, even before Harry had paid her a visit, but now she could really see how difficult it was going to be for her and the baby. They would truly be alone in a world where her baby was unwanted, not just by their father, but by the Weasleys as well. Already Hermione could foresee a lot of difficulties as she tried to move forward and start her life as a single mother.

* * *

A fortnight after Harry's fateful visit, Hermione sat her parents down and informed them she had some big news. In the past two weeks she'd done some planning for the future, and she'd made some decisions that she'd thought would provide the best life both for herself and for the baby she was carrying.

"Are we going to like these decisions you've made?" Jean asked her daughter. She had a feeling that Hermione was going to tell them something she wasn't going to like.

"I don't know," Hermione replied. "But I've set my heart on doing this. I think it's best for me and the baby."

"Come on then," Richard said warily. "Tell us your big news."

"I've found myself a job," Hermione announced with a smile. "It's in a wizarding museum and art gallery. I've personally spoken to the head curator, and explained about my pregnancy, and it won't be an issue. I can spend these next few months learning the ropes, and in the latter stages of my pregnancy, I can concentrate on the administrative side to the job. I can then have several months of maternity leave, and I can even go back part time at first if that's what I would rather do."

"That all sounds great," Jean replied, smiling at how happy her daughter seemed about the job.

"But where's the catch?" Richard pried. It was obvious his daughter was giving them the good news, before she stunned them with something not so good.

"The catch would be the location of the museum," Hermione admitted. "The museum is in Wizarding Paris."

"France," Jean stated. "You want to move to France?"

"Before you tell me I'm being rash, just let me explain," Hermione urged her parents, sensing they were ready to let leash a torrent of reasons why she shouldn't be making the move. "You know how Harry and the Weasleys feel about me, and like it or not, if I stay here I will see them from time to time. I can cope with their hatred, but I don't want to subject my child to anything like that. I don't want my child growing up, wondering why people they've never met hate them. And I don't want to give up the magical side of my life. Yes, I could settle in the muggle world, but I'm a witch, and I don't want to hide that side of myself. And again it wouldn't be fair on my child, since they're are probably going to be magical as well. I don't want to deprive them of growing up in the wizarding world. Moving to France is the perfect solution. We still get to live in the wizarding world, but there'll be no hatred aimed towards us, and I can speak fluent French."

"You actually make some good points," Jean said with a sad smile. "I can see why you feel you need to get away. But what about the fact you'll be all alone in a foreign country, with a new baby. You're going to need support, Hermione."

"I'll just have to cope," Hermione said with a shrug. To be honest, leaving her parents behind and the support they would give to her, was the only downside to her plan. "And you two can pop over to France easily enough. It's either a short plane ride, or I could use magic to bring you to me."

"And what about when you return to work?" Jean asked. "What about the baby? Who's going to look after them?"

"I don't know, Mum," Hermione admitted. "I haven't got all the answers. All I know is that I need to get away from here. I cannot give my child the life it deserves in Wizarding Britain. We need a fresh start. I just hope you can support us."

"Of course we can," Jean reassured her daughter, before she turned to her husband. "Can't we Richard?" She urged, nudging her silent husband in the ribs.

"We can do better than that," Richard said, breaking his contemplative silence. "We can come with you."

"What?" Hermione gaped at her father in shock, and the look of surprise on her mother's face was almost rivaled by her own.

"I mean it," Richard said seriously. "We could all move to France. Your mother and I have always talked about moving somewhere warm when we retire. We've got a healthy nest egg in the bank, and we can take early retirement. We can find you somewhere in the wizarding world to live, and your mother and I can live nearby in the muggle world. I was thinking maybe somewhere in the country, or by the sea, and you could just commute into Paris for work."

"You would seriously do that for me?" Hermione asked with tears in her eyes. "You would give up your entire life to move to France with me?"

"You're our daughter, Hermione, we'd do anything for you," Richard replied. "If this is what is best for you and our grandchild, then I say we take the plunge."

"Mum?" Hermione asked, turning to her mother. "What do you think?"

"I think it's time I brushed up on my French," Jean replied with a smile.

Overcome by her parents amazing gesture, Hermione burst into tears. It looked like she wouldn't have to leave her parents behind after all. They could all have a fresh start in France, and they could leave Harry and the Weasleys in the past.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – There's a lot to cover in the ten chapters that make up part one, so from now on their will be regular time skips. Basically, without the time skips the story would be ridiculously long (and no doubt boring and dragging), and we wouldn't see any Draco for an eternity. As it is, he doesn't come into it until the next chapter.**

* * *

Once the decision was made for the entire Granger family to move to France, things got moving pretty quickly. Hermione was the first to move, and initially she rented a small flat in Paris as she started her job at the museum and got herself registered with the French wizarding authorities. Things weren't quite as fast moving for Hermione's parents, as before they could move they had to sell their house and dental practice.

For the first few months, Hermione's parents visited her on the weekend as they searched for houses, both in the wizarding world and the muggle world. Hermione quickly found a small house in the heart of an exclusive small wizarding village in the beautiful French countryside. To move into the village, she had to be approved by the village's council, but she charmed the board and everyone in the village was happy to have the bright, friendly English witch in their village.

With Hermione sorted, her parents started looking into muggle accommodation near to her village. Less than ten miles away, they found a welcoming town, where they found the perfect house. The town even had a dental practice, where Richard got a part time job as he wasn't quite ready for full time retirement just yet. Jean meanwhile, didn't bother looking for a job as it had already been decided that when the baby came, Jean would be the primary carer when Hermione went back to work.

By Christmas, the entire Granger family were settled in France. Hermione had her small house just the way she wanted, including a nursery for the baby. By the festive season, Richard and Jean didn't quite have their house together, but by the early New Year it was as though they'd been living in the house for years. By the end of January, everyone was set and they were just waiting for Hermione to give birth.

Since the baby wasn't due until the first week of March, Hermione remained working until right near the end of February. From the second she'd started her job, she fallen in love with the work, and even when she had to just take care of the administration and take it easy, her job was never boring. She'd also managed to make some good friends at the museum, and even though she'd only been there a few months when she went on maternity leave, everyone clubbed together and bought her a selection of baby goodies. Before she left, she'd also had to promise that she would be in to visit them with the baby as soon as she could.

Hermione had chosen not to find out the sex of her baby beforehand, so when she went into labour early in the morning just a few days after finishing work, she had no idea if she was going to give birth to a boy or a girl. After nearly twelve hours in labour, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl a couple of days before her due date.

"She is so gorgeous," Jean cooed as she fussed over her granddaughter while Hermione was resting in bed.

Jean had been at Hermione's side the entire time as she'd given birth, and she was incredibly proud of her daughter for the way she'd handled everything that had been thrown at her over the last few months. While Hermione's pregnancy itself had been a smooth one with no problems, she had to deal with a fair bit of other stuff at the same time. She'd been abandoned by her closest friends and forced to move countries, just to ensure her daughter would grow up without people hating her.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Richard asked his daughter. He knew Hermione had spent the last few months jotting down names that she'd liked, but he had no idea if she'd actually picked one.

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied as her mother handed her back her daughter and she stared down into her little face. So far, Hermione couldn't see any of Harry in her daughter, and she was half hoping it stayed that way as she didn't really want to be reminded of how much he'd hurt her by the way he'd turned on her.

"Don't rush it," Jean advised. "The right name will come to you when it's ready."

"How did you come up with my name?" Hermione asked. She knew she was named for a princess in Greek mythology, but she unsure how her parents had settled on Hermione.

"You know I've always been a history buff, and Greek Mythology was also a particular favourite subject of mine," Richard replied. "When we found out we were having a little girl, we talked about using one of the names from the Greek myths and legends."

"We actually talked about a few names, but until you were born we couldn't decide on anything," Jean added. "It wasn't until we had you in our arms that we knew you were a Hermione. None of the other names seemed right, but Hermione was perfect."

Hermione nodded as she looked back down at her daughter. As she held her daughter, she ran through the girls names on her list in her head. Five minutes later, she'd dismissed them all as none of them seemed to fit with her daughter.

"Hmm, just what are you called, little miss," Hermione whispered. "Nothing I've got seems to fit with you."

"Maybe you could name her for someone," Richard suggested.

"Maybe," Hermione mused as she thought about who she could name her daughter for.

Obviously she wanted to stay away from any connection to Harry and her past life as a witch in Britain, but she did have some family she could consider. Both her grandmothers were dead, but when she'd been little she'd been close to both of them, particularly her father's mother, Anne.

"I could name her after Gran," Hermione said. "I like the name Anne, but maybe as a middle name. Or maybe I could combine the names from both my grandmothers."

"What, use both Margaret and Anne?" Jean questioned with a frown. "I'm not sure they go together."

"I wasn't thinking about using Margaret, I was thinking about Nan's maiden name, Scarlett," Hermione replied as she looked down at her daughter with a smile. "Scarlett Anne Granger."

"Scarlett Anne, I like it," Richard announced with a smile.

"So do I," Jean agreed. "I think it's perfect."

"There we go, princess, you have a name," Hermione cooed to her daughter. "Scarlett Anne Granger, named for your two great grandmother's. If they were here, they would love you so much."

"And they would be so proud of you," Jean said as she gave her daughter a hug. "Just like we are. We couldn't be prouder, Hermione."

"We really couldn't," Richard agreed as he hugged Hermione from her other side. "You mean the world to us, Hermione, you and Scarlett."

Hermione and Scarlett remained in the hospital overnight, just to be sure they were both okay, but early the next morning they were discharged and Hermione's parents took them home and helped Hermione get settled in. After spending nearly the whole day at her house, Hermione's parents finally left her alone with her daughter. Part of Hermione wanted to make her parents stay, as she was still unsure what she was doing at time, but another part of her was pleased she had a chance to be on her own with Scarlett. As much as she appreciated her parent's help, and she didn't think she could have done this without them, she was still a single mother and as such had to learn to cope on her own.

Another reason Hermione was pleased to be left alone was that it gave her time to think. During the night in hospital she'd woken up with an urge to let Harry know about Scarlett. Not that his response would change anything, and she had no intention of letting him get involved in Scarlett's life, but she did feel as though he had the right to know he had a daughter. However, despite wanting to let him know about Scarlett, Hermione still wasn't sure it was the way to go. Maybe she would be better off just leaving Harry in the past.

Finally, Hermione did decide to write to Harry, although she decided she wouldn't give him any details. Once Scarlett had settled down to sleep, Hermione pulled out some parchment and wrote Harry a quick letter. It was really just a quick note to say that she'd had the baby, and it was a girl. She didn't mention Scarlett's name, or the fact they were now living in France. But at least now she could say that Harry knew he had a daughter.

Although, a week later when Hermione received a letter back from Harry she wished she hadn't bothered. Harry had returned her letter, supposedly unopened but by the contents of the letter he'd written back, Hermione knew he'd at least taken a peek at her initial letter. Harry's letter was brief and to the point, and it informed her that he didn't have a daughter. As far as he was concerned, Hermione and her baby didn't exist. He had his life with Ginny, and that was all that mattered to him.

Hermione's instinct was to throw Harry's letter away, but at the last minute she found she couldn't throw it in the bin. Instead, she placed it in a box that held all her past memories from her friendship with Harry and Ron that she hadn't been able to bring herself to throw away when she moved. Hermione knew that chances were she wouldn't look at the letter again, but at least she had it if she ever needed it in the future.

* * *

Six weeks after Scarlett was born, Hermione was ready to return to work. Instead of jumping in full time, she was starting off at three afternoons a week, and slowly building up to returning full time. While Hermione was at work, her mother was going to be looking after Scarlett. Hermione knew her mother was looking forward to spending time alone with her granddaughter, and she knew that at least one afternoon her father wasn't working and the pair were going to take Scarlett into muggle Paris. Scarlett had actually been to Wizarding Paris a few times since her birth as Hermione had taken her daughter to see the girls from work a few times.

When Hermione first returned to work, Scarlett was all people wanted to talk to her about, but after a few weeks the novelty wore off and it was business as usual. Even though Hermione was still just working part time, her responsibilities had been increased and she knew that the head curator was hoping that by the time she returned to work full time, she would be almost ready for a promotion. Both Hermione and the head curator, saw big things in Hermione's future and they were both determined to make sure Hermione's career was a huge success.

By the time Hermione had been back at work a month, she was up to working three full days a week. It was also around that time that the art gallery side of the museum were preparing for an exhibition by an up and coming young French artist named Henri Masters. Hermione was drafted into the planning of the exhibition, and that was where she met the artist himself. Henri was a few years older than herself, but he was enchanted by Hermione and her English accent.

"Where have you been hiding?" Henri asked her one afternoon as they were sorting out the best way to display his works. "I've been in talks with the museum for weeks, but I've never seen you before."

"I've been on leave," Hermione replied.

"But you're back now?" Henri pressed. "No more leave?"

"I'm back," Hermione confirmed, smiling at the handsome French man. The pair had been working together for the past two weeks, and in that time Henri had done nothing but flirt outrageously with Hermione. "Only three days at the minute, but I'll be back full time soon enough."

"How perfect," Henri replied with a wide smile that showed off his perfect teeth. "I shall become a regular visitor to the museum now you're here."

"Most people come to the museum to see the treasures we have on display," Hermione replied with a slight laugh.

"Those treasure pale in comparison to you," Henri replied, causing Hermione to blush fiercely. "Ah, you are shy," He added with a chuckle. "Has no wizard never told you how beautiful you are?"

"I don't have a good track record with wizards," Hermione admitted as her mind automatically turned to Harry and everything she'd been through with him.

"Then you've only dated foolish wizards," Henri announced grandly. "Any wizard who has let you slip through his fingers is a fool."

"Thank you," Hermione replied.

"I mean it," Henri insisted. "And to prove I'm not foolish, how about you join me for a drink tonight?"

"I'd love to, but I have to get home," Hermione replied with a regretful smile.

"You have a partner?" Henri checked with a frown.

"No partner," Hermione replied. "But I do have a daughter, and I have to get back to her."

"A child?" Henri paled at the revelation and even though he didn't move physically, Hermione could sense him backing away from her.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "She's twelve weeks."

"How nice," Henri replied with a smile Hermione could tell was fake. "Perhaps we can have a drink another time."

"Perhaps," Hermione said with a nod, even though she knew another offer wouldn't be forthcoming from the handsome French artist.

There and then, Hermione realised just how hard it was going to be to find someone willing to get involved with her. As a single mother she lost some of her appeal, and she knew most wizards would run a mile when they found out she had a daughter. Luckily, Hermione didn't need a man in her life. As long as she had Scarlett she was happy. If she met someone and he could accept her daughter, that was be great, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if it didn't happen. With or without a man in her life, Hermione was determined she and Scarlett were going to have the perfect life.


	4. Chapter 4

As Hermione slipped into her new deep plum halter neck dress, she wondered if she was making the right decision in going out that evening. Since having Scarlett, Hermione's social life had been lacking, but she wasn't a total hermit. She was now back working full time at the museum, and she did go out with the girls from work every month. However, even with a bit of a social life her love life was still dead in the water. It seemed every man she met, ran off as soon as they found out she had a child. Not that Hermione was going out to find a man, she was actually due to be attending a fund-raising evening at the museum.

Since her evening out could technically be counted as work, Hermione pushed her indecision to one side and finished getting dressed. Ten minutes later, she was ready to leave so she headed downstairs where her parents were preparing to babysit for the evening. When she entered the front room, she found her parents sitting on the sofa while Scarlett was crawling around on the floor with some of her dolls.

"Hey princess," Hermione cooed, swooping her daughter up in her arms.

"Mama," Scarlett responded with a little giggle as she snuggled into Hermione.

It was ten days until her daughter's first birthday, and Hermione couldn't believe how fast the time had passed. Scarlett was shooting up, and she was already making great progress with her talking and walking. As for looks, she was very much like Hermione with her large brown eyes and curly hair. To be honest the only slight indication Harry was her father was the fact her hair was several shades darker than Hermione's, albeit not the jet black of her biological father's.

"Are you going to be a good girl tonight?" Hermione asked.

"Of course she is," Jean replied. "She's always good."

"She is an angel," Richard agreed with his wife.

"Hmm, she is when she wants to be," Hermione muttered. Giving her daughter a kiss, she put her back down on the floor and watched as she turned her attention back to her favourite doll.

"Even the best behaved children have their moments of naughtiness," Richard said knowingly. While he would say Hermione was a good kid growing up, she'd certainly had her moments of mischief.

"I don't know what you mean, I was always a perfectly behaved child," Hermione joked, grinning at her parents.

"Sure you were sweetheart," Richard laughed. "Now, are you going to stand around here talking all evening, or are you going to go out and have some fun?"

"I'm not sure I'd call the evening ahead fun," Hermione remarked with a sigh. "It's more like work."

"But you love your job," Jean pointed out.

"I do," Hermione admitted with a small smile.

"So get going, and enjoy yourself," Jean ordered her daughter.

"Okay, I'm going," Hermione replied.

Giving her parents and her daughter a kiss goodbye, Hermione pulled on her jacket and apparated to the museum. Hermione arrived in the staff room, where she hung her jacket up and checked her appearance before she headed into the part of the museum that was hosting the fund-raiser. About half of the museum was open for the fund-raiser, and practically everyone who was anyone in Wizarding France was at the evening. The idea of the evening was to gain new business for the museum, and hopefully earn them enough money so they could expand the museum to include a top class restaurant.

The evening was well under way when Hermione entered the fray. Grabbing a glass of champagne of a passing waiter, she headed over to where her boss was standing talking to a few high ranking people from the Ministry of Magic. Her boss quickly made the introductions, before leaving Hermione to sweet talk the group while she went to mingle with the other guests.

For nearly an hour, Hermione flitted around the party, chatting amiably to everyone she met. She'd just finished talking with a sculptor, who'd agreed to drop off a portfolio of their work in view of opening an exhibit in the museum, when the curator of the museum grabbed her and slid a fresh glass of champagne into her hand.

"There's someone I want you to charm, Hermione," The curator said. "He's an English wizard, but his family originally comes from France. In fact, he's the heir to the biggest wizarding fortune in Europe."

"And I'm charming him, why?" Hermione asked.

"He's thinking about letting us use some of his ancestors' things for a display on French history. It would be quite a coup to get a collection from the Malfoys. Their family were very influential in establishing a strong wizarding community in France."

"Did you say, Malfoy?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes, do you know him?" The curator asked with a twinkle in her eye. "Now I think about it, he could be about your age. What was he called, a Latin name I think?"

"Draco," Hermione supplied.

"That's it," The curator said with a smile. "So you do know him."

"We went to school together," Hermione answered.

"Perfect," The curator replied. "You've already got a connection with him. Do your best to get him to agree to participate in the exhibit."

"I'll try, but I'm warning you now, we weren't friends in school," Hermione cautioned.

"People change," The curator answered with a shrug. "He seems nice enough to me. Just talk to him and see what happens."

Without waiting for an answer, Hermione's boss darted back into the crowds, and Hermione was left wondering just where she would find Draco Malfoy. She'd seen no sign of the platinum blond, but then again, she hadn't exactly been looking for him. Taking a sip of her champagne, she set off through the party, looking for her former school mate.

Five minutes later, Hermione spotted Draco standing on one of the balcony's that overlooked the museums gardens. Instead of approaching him right away, Hermione took a moment to study the former Slytherin. Once he'd started to grow in school, he'd turned into a very good looking teenager, and even though they'd never been friends, Hermione had still been able to appreciate Draco's looks. However, it would seem the couple of years since school ended had only increased his looks further, and he was now a devastatingly handsome wizard. Hermione had no doubt that he had witches falling at his feet, and he could have the pick of any woman he desired.

Fully expecting his good looks, combined with his natural sizeable ego, had made him unbearable, Hermione began to walk over to Draco. She figured she could smile and play up to him for one evening, if it got him to agree to donate a collection to the museum. After all, if she secured his donation, she might even end up in line for a promotion.

"Hello, Malfoy," Hermione greeted, as she stepped out onto the small balcony where the blond was standing.

Draco jumped slightly at her voice, and when he turned round to see who had addressed him, Hermione noticed the initial shock in his grey eyes. However, the shock soon disappeared as he took a few minutes to let his gaze travel the full length of Hermione's body, and back up to her face. By the time their eyes connected, Hermione was feeling rather warm at the blond's attention.

"Granger," Draco returned in a low voice. "So you're the English beauty whose taken the museum by storm. I've heard a lot of good things about you this evening. You're quite the attraction here."

"I'm no-one special," Hermione replied quietly as she fought the blush that was threatening to overcome her.

"On the contrary, everyone at the museum that I've spoken to says you're destined for great things," Draco replied. "They all think you can do something special with the place."

"Maybe one day, but I'm just starting right now," Hermione answered. "I haven't even been here for two years."

"We haven't even been left school for two years," Draco pointed out. "You must have moved over here almost as soon as we graduated."

"A few months after graduation," Hermione replied, keeping her voice neutral as memories of why she'd left England threatened to engulf her. "And you?" She enquired in the hopes of changing the subject away from herself. "Do you live in France now, or are you just passing through?"

"I'm living in France now," Draco replied. "I moved to Paris at the end of last year. We're wanting to establish a line of the business in France again, and my parents are pretty settled at the manor so they didn't want to move. I had no ties, so I was happy to make the move."

"No ties?" Hermione raised an eyebrow as she sipped her champagne. "So you're not married?"

"No, I'm not married," Draco replied with a slow smile. "Why, are you going to ask me on a date, Granger?" He teased.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Draco's question, surprised by how natural it felt to be laughing and talking with the blond wizard. "No, I'm not that sort of girl."

"Shame," Draco muttered, just loud enough for Hermione to hear.

"I just thought a lot of purebloods got married as early as possible so they could carry on the family line," Hermione continued, ignoring Draco's last remark, although she'd been very flattered and surprised by his words.

"Maybe a few years ago, but times change," Draco replied with a shrug. "I have no intention of marrying someone just to carry on the family name. When I marry it will be because I'm madly in love with the witch in question."

Hermione was stunned into silence by Draco's response. It wasn't that she thought Draco wasn't capable of loving someone, on the contrary she'd always thought he was so guarded with his emotions because he felt things very deeply, she was just shocked that he'd revealed something so clearly personal to her. Granted, she'd never known him very well considering the fact they'd been in rival houses at school, plus his family had never gotten along with Ron's, but she'd never thought he was the type of person to share things with people he didn't trust.

"You look surprised," Draco remarked with a low laugh. "Is it the fact I want to marry for love that shocks you, or the fact I told you that?"

"Both, actually," Hermione admitted. "I've always thought you were a pretty private person, so I'm surprised you shared that with me. And I guess I always thought that carrying on your family name and keeping the Malfoys pure was more important to you than love."

Draco gave Hermione a smirk, and for the first time since they'd started talking she was reminded of the boy she'd went to school with.

"It looks like you've been listening to other people's opinions Granger," He said. "I am a private person, but it's not like I've bared my soul to you. I've just shown you that I'm not a heartless monster. As for keeping the name pure, that's old news. Everyone knows the Malfoys value blood, but as I said earlier, times change. Keeping the family line pure isn't the big deal it once was. I have no desire to deliberately go out and marry someone who isn't a pure blood just to end the purity of the family line, but if I so happen to fall in love with someone other than a pureblood, then so be it."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, worried in case she's offended the blond. "I guess I'm just realising that we don't really know each other, despite the fact we went to school together for seven years."

"Then why don't we start now," Draco suggested with a genuine smile, not his usual smirk. "How about you give me the tour of this place, and as we do, we can get to know each other."

"Sounds good to me," Hermione agreed.

Exiting the small balcony they'd been standing on, the pair returned to the main body of the museum. As Hermione showed Draco around the exhibits that were open for the evening, the pair chatted about their lives and found they had a fair bit in common. Of course they'd had very different upbringings and experiences within the wizarding world, but they were both finding it fascinating to speak to someone who'd lived their lives so differently from themselves. Although, surprisingly they both seemed to want the same things for the future, namely a career they loved and were passionate about and a loving family to come home to at the end of each day.

"You know I was tasked with a job this evening," Hermione admitted as she checked the time and found she'd been talking with Draco for over two hours. "I was supposed to be convincing you to allow us to display some of your families' belongings in our new exhibit, and I haven't raised the topic once."

"You've done so now, and consider me convinced," Draco replied. "I'll let the museum have whatever they want. Maybe you could come to the château and take a look around. I'm currently staying at the family's penthouse, but the château is where all the old stuff belonging to our ancestors is."

"Just like that, you're agreeing to the exhibit?" Hermione checked, wondering if the blond had an ulterior motive.

"Well, I was half way there to saying yes before this evening," Draco confessed. "But I've really enjoyed myself tonight, Hermione, and if I say yes to the exhibit, it means I get to see more of you."

"Why would you want to see more of me?" Hermione asked quietly. She'd also enjoyed herself, but she knew this was where things were about to come to an abrupt halt.

"Because you're the most fascinating witch I've ever met," Draco admitted with a charming smile. "Honestly, I'm kicking myself for not getting to know you back in school. But I really want to change that now. Will you allow me to take you to dinner one evening?"

Hermione felt the breath leave her body at the request she'd known was coming. Part of her wanted to accept the offer and not mention, Scarlett, but she knew that wasn't fair on either of them. She needed to be upfront with Draco, even if it meant neither of them got what they wanted.

"And you're already seeing someone," Draco concluded when Hermione remained silent. "I should have known that you're weren't single."

"I'm not seeing anyone, not since just after we left Hogwarts," Hermione confessed. "That's not why I hesitated."

"It's okay," Draco interrupted. "I understand that you don't want to get involved with me. To be honest, given the way I behaved towards you in our early years of school, it's not surprising."

"It's not that either," Hermione insisted. To be honest, she'd long since gotten over the harsh way Draco had treated her in the early days of school as even by the time they'd graduated, he'd grown out of his pureblood brat persona. "There's something you need to know before I agree to have dinner with you."

"Okay," Draco said warily. "What do I need to know?"

"I have a daughter, Scarlett. She's nearly one year old," Hermione said in a rush, before she waited for the usual brush off to occur.

Draco stared at Hermione in surprise for several seconds, and she braced herself for however he was going to rescind his offer of dinner. In the past few months she'd had several people ask her out, only to take it back when they found out she was a single mother. Some of them did it polity, however some of them had been pretty brutal about it. She was just hoping Draco would be nice about taking his offer back and that it wouldn't affect the promise he'd made to donate some stuff for the new exhibit.

"Nearly a year?" Draco finally asked.

"Yes, her birthday is in ten days," Hermione replied.

"You had her really quickly after leaving school," Draco remarked. "Not even nine months later."

"Yes, I was pregnant when I left Hogwarts," Hermione admitted with a sigh.

"I'm not judging, Hermione," Draco said softly. "It's just not the news I was expecting to hear."

"It's okay, Draco, I understand," Hermione replied, giving the blond a small smile. "You're not yet twenty, you don't want to get involved with a single mother. I don't blame you for not wanting to take this any further."

"Who said anything about not taking this any further?" Draco frowned. "My offer for dinner is still open. I still want to take you out some time, Hermione."

"Even though you now know I have a child?" Hermione was genuinely shocked by Draco, and she didn't know quite how to react to the blond wizard.

"I like you, Hermione, the fact you have a daughter doesn't change that," Draco replied with a shrug. "If you don't want to go out with me because you don't like me, that's fine. But please don't use your daughter as an excuse. I want a chance to take you to dinner and see where this leads. What do you say, do you want to go out with me?"

"Yes, I'd love to," Hermione admitted with a smile.

She didn't know how things were going to work out with Draco, but she'd finally met someone who wasn't put off by the fact she had a daughter, and she wasn't going to miss out on a chance of going for dinner with someone who'd accepted something that no other wizard she'd met had seemed to be able to do. Maybe things would work out with Draco, or maybe they wouldn't, but either way Hermione wanted to find out for herself.


	5. Chapter 5

It was actually a month after their meeting at the museum before Draco and Hermione managed to have their first date. They'd first been scheduled to go out a few days after the evening at the museum, but the day of the date, Scarlett had come down with a cold and Hermione had cancelled the date. They'd rearranged the date for the following week, but Draco had then had problems with a Potions lab he wanted to buy in another part of France so the date had been postponed yet again. However, Hermione was hoping that third time was the charm and they wouldn't have to rearrange again.

Happily, nothing did come up and at the third attempt, Hermione and Draco met up in a small café opposite the museum. Draco had offered to pick Hermione up from her house, but she asked to meet somewhere neutral because of Scarlett. Even though her daughter had just turned one, she didn't want Scarlett exposed to her love life. Luckily, Draco didn't take her request as a rejection, and he was more than happy to meet Hermione at a place of her choosing.

When Hermione arrived at the café, she was rather stunned to find Draco looking casual in a pair of dark jeans and a deep green jumper. They'd spoken a couple of times while organising the date, and Draco had suggested they do something more causal for their first date. Hermione herself was also wearing jeans and a jumper, however, Hermione hadn't expected to find the blond looking quite so muggle.

"Don't look so surprised, Hermione," Draco chuckled when Hermione merely gaped at him. "I can do casual."

"And muggle," Hermione pointed out. "I've never seen jeans in the wizarding world before."

"That's Blaise's influence," Draco confessed with a small smile. "He's all for experiencing new things, and this last year has all been about the muggle world. He's dragged me along a few times, and I have to admit, muggles aren't all that bad."

"No, they're not," Hermione agreed with a smile. "So what do you have planned for this evening?"

"We've got two options," Draco replied. "Option one, we go and have a quiet dinner together somewhere low key. Or option two, we go and have fun and act like the teenagers we are."

"Technically, I'm twenty," Hermione argued.

"Okay, young people then," Draco corrected, rolling his eyes good naturedly at Hermione. "Since leaving school, I've been pretty much obsessed with work. I haven't had much time to think about having fun, and giving your circumstances, I figured you haven't had much time to be young either."

"Not really," Hermione confessed. "Since leaving school my entire world had revolved around Scarlett. It will be nice to have an evening to just relax and act my age."

"I can guarantee you can do that tonight," Draco replied with a grin. Getting to his feet, he held his hand out to Hermione. "Shall we go?"

"Where to exactly?" Hermione asked as she took hold of the offered hand.

"It's a surprise," Draco answered as he pulled out his wand, made sure he had a tight grip on Hermione and apparated them away from the small café.

When they landed, the couple found themselves outside of the gates of a large funfair, set up in a vast field. The fair was bright and colourful, with music Hermione recognised as being wizarding piping through the place.

"What is this place?" She asked.

"A magical fun fair," Draco replied. "They're fairly new and only a few countries do them. Basically they've taken inspiration from muggles, but added a bit of magic to proceedings."

"Interesting," Hermione remarked. "I always loved funfairs as a little girl. Let's see what this one has to offer."

Sharing an excited grin, the pair headed into the funfair. The first thing they came across was a stall selling balloons, which magically took the shape of whatever you desired. They watched a couple of teenagers but some balloons, which took the shape of a dragon and a unicorn, but they moved on. A few more stalls were selling trinkets and memorabilia, while there were a fair few game stalls where prizes could be won.

"Before we really get into things, do you want something to eat?" Draco asked, spotting a small café that sold food and drink.

"Sounds good to me," Hermione replied as they made their way over to the café.

Instead of eating indoors, they grabbed a couple of burgers and ate as they continued to walk around the funfair. As they were finishing off their burgers, they came across a large Ferris Wheel. However, instead of the muggle seats, the wheel was fitted with glass pods. When the pods then reached the top of the wheel, they then broke away from the wheel and went floating off around the funfair.

"How does this work?" Hermione asked as she studied the wheel. So far she'd seen two pods escape from the wheel, and it had at least half it's pods missing as it slowly rotated.

"When the pods get to the top of the wheel, they eject and go sight-seeing," Draco answered. "There's a pre-set course the pods follow, and they'll end up coming back to the wheel, where they reattach and join the wheel. Do you fancy a go?"

"Not just yet," Hermione answered. Despite her hatred of flying, she had no fear of heights, but she wasn't quite ready to ride the Ferris Wheel. "Let's explore a bit more first."

Leaving the Ferris Wheel behind them, the pair carried on exploring the fair. They both had a go at hooking a duck, but since the ducks were enchanted to swim fast in the pool of water, it was practically impossible. Draco tried and failed to knock a coconut of its stand, and they left the game with the blond complaining it was rigged.

"Now this is something I can do," Draco declared as they reached a quidditch obstacle course.

The idea was to get around the course as quickly as you could. A monitor on the broomstick, recorded time and checked every obstacle was done right. The prize you won, depended on how fast and accurately you cleared the course.

"Decide what prize you want, Hermione, I'm going to smash this," Draco announced as he paid for a turn on the obstacle course.

As Draco prepared to try the course, Hermione settled herself down on a nearby bench, where she could watch all the action. From the bench, Hermione had the perfect view as Draco flew around the course, tackling every obstacle with ease. Despite having seen him fly in school during the quidditch matches, Hermione was surprised by how good the blond was. She'd always known he was a pretty good flyer, but watching him now, he looked top class. She couldn't help but think that if he'd flown the same way when he'd played quidditch, Harry might not have been the best player in the school.

When Draco finished the course, Hermione was straight off the bench and back at the front desk just in time to hear the wizard in charge of the course to declare Draco had just set a new record time.

"Best time ever recorded," The wizard remarked with a low whistle. "You have the pick of the prizes."

"Hermione?" Draco turned to his date with a huge grin on his face. "Do you want to pick something?"

Hermione looked at the prizes on offer, before settling for a giant unicorn soft toy. The wizards handed the toy over to Draco, who promptly shrunk it and gave it to Hermione to tuck into her bag.

"For Scarlett?" He asked as they moved away from the stall.

"Yeah, she'll love it," Hermione replied with a nod. "Thank you."

"I'm not really the soft toy type," Draco joked.

Hermione laughed as they continued to stroll leisurely around the funfair. "You were really good. Have you always flown that well?"

"What a polite way to say I sucked at quidditch," Draco laughed.

"I didn't mean that," Hermione protested, turning slightly red as she realised her mistake.

"It's okay Hermione, I'm just teasing," Draco said, grinning at her to let her know he wasn't upset. "And the answer is yes, I've always been more than capable on a broom. My problem was, I didn't focus on the game in hand. I was always so concerned with the opposition and beating them. If I'd focused on my own game, I would have been a lot better than what I ever was."

"Do you regret not focusing on the game more?" Hermione asked, wondering if the blond wished he could have had a professional quidditch career.

"Not really," Draco replied with a shake of his head. "Quidditch was fun, it was never going to be my career."

"And here's me thinking all wizards want to play quidditch professionally," Hermione laughed.

"Not me," Draco replied. "I only ever wanted to join the family business and make my father proud."

"I'm sure you're doing just that," Hermione said.

"I hope so," Draco answered. "Father isn't always the most expressive of people, but I think he approves of what I'm doing over here in France."

The conversation about Draco's parents and his work continued for another few minutes as they tried out a few more games. They then came across a candy floss stall, and Draco insisted that Hermione try the sweet treat. Unlike muggle candy floss, which just tasted of one flavour, wizarding candy floss was different. Every bite tasted like a different sort of sweet treat or dessert.

"This is gorgeous," Hermione declared as she munched on her candy floss. Every bite was a new experience, and she just didn't know what flavour she was going to eat next.

"It is rather good," Draco agreed.

After their candy floss, the pair decided to ride the ghost train. Like the muggle ghost trains, each car ran on a track, but the ride was powered by magic rather than electricity. Climbing into a car together, Draco and Hermione sat back to enjoy the ride as they slowly entered the large building that had been converted into a ghost train.

"Feel free to hold my hand if you get scared," Draco whispered as they entered the dark.

"These things never scare me," Hermione announced confidently.

Sure enough she was right, and the pair spent most of the ride laughing about how lame it was. By the time the ride ended, neither of them had jumped once. Although, that wasn't to say they hadn't had fun, as they'd thoroughly enjoyed their trip around the haunted house.

"Let's go and try and Ferris Wheel now," Hermione suggested as they moved away from the ghost train.

Making their way back to the Ferris Wheel, the pair joined the small queue. As they were standing waiting for their turn, Hermione watched as one of the glass pods reattached itself to the top of the wheel. She also managed to read a sign beside the wheel and discovered it took the pods fifteen minutes to explore the fair and its surroundings area before returning to the wheel.

When it was their turn, Hermione and Draco stepped into the pod and settled down on the large, plush chair that was sitting in the centre of the pod. Once the door was closed, the pod slowly began to make its way up the wheel, pausing every time a new pod reached the bottom and a fresh rider got on. After five minutes, the pair reached the top of the wheel and their pod detached itself and went floating off over the fair.

"Wow," Hermione gasped, looking down at the stunning night views of Paris. "This is stunning."

"It is," Draco agreed.

For a while the pair were silent as they enjoyed the views, but they soon began to talk to each other. They'd been chatting about their lives on and off all evening, and finally the topic of Scarlett really rose its head. Of course, Hermione's daughter had been mentioned over the course of the date, but Draco hadn't asked any of the questions that he'd been dying to ask since the second he found out about Scarlett's existence.

"So her father isn't in the picture?" He asked casually. Considering Hermione had been pregnant when she left school, Draco was assuming Ron Weasley was the father, but curiously Hermione hadn't mentioned him or any of her other friends since they re-met.

"Not even in the country," Hermione replied with a rueful smile.

"Does he visit Scarlett?" Draco asked.

"No," Hermione answered, shaking her head. "When I told him I was pregnant, he went ballistic and told me to get rid of the baby. We had a massive falling out, and I chose to move away. I wrote to tell him when I had Scarlett, but he wrote back and said he didn't have a daughter. That's how he wants it, and that's the way it is. He isn't on the birth certificate, and he's having nothing to do with Scarlett."

"That's terrible," Draco said sadly. He was genuinely shocked by Hermione's story as he'd always thought family meant a lot to the Weasleys. "But what about the rest of his family? Are they just happy to ignore Scarlett?"

"What family?" Hermione asked with a frown. "He doesn't have any family."

"So, Scarlett's father is not Weasley?" Draco checked.

"That would have made things so much easier," Hermione chuckled humourlessly. "No, Ron isn't Scarlett's father. I got pregnant with Scarlett before I got together with Ron. Scarlett's father is Harry."

"Potter?" Draco spluttered, totally thrown by the revelation.

Hermione nodded as she gazed out of the glass pod they were still nestled in. "Yep. One night of madness led to an unexpected pregnancy. By the time I found out I was expecting, I was with Ron and Harry was back with Ginny. As I said, when I told him, he got nasty. Harry and the Weasleys cut me off and I was left all alone."

"What a git," Draco said quietly as he bit his lip.

"What?" Hermione prodded, sensing there was something Draco was keeping from her.

"I don't know if you know this, Hermione, but Potter married Weaselette as soon as she left school."

"He told me they were engaged the last time I saw him," Hermione admitted with a shrug. "It doesn't surprise me that they did it so quickly."

"That's not all," Draco continued warily. "Barely a month after the wedding, they announced she was pregnant. I'd left England before they'd had the baby, but last I heard, it was due about Christmas time."

Hermione's mouth dropped open at the news that Harry had gotten Ginny pregnant so quickly after she'd left. Although, really she shouldn't be so surprised. She knew Ginny was ruthless and would do whatever it took to hang onto Harry. Obviously she thought marrying him wasn't enough, so she'd made sure to have his child as well. Even though, Hermione did have to admit it stung slightly that Harry had willingly had a child with Ginny barely nine months after Scarlett had been born. He hadn't wanted to know Scarlett, but she was betting he'd welcomed his second child with open arms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Draco apologised, mentally kicking himself for bringing the topic up.

"You haven't," Hermione said, shaking her head and dismissing thoughts of Harry. "Let Harry do what he wants, I couldn't care less. Scarlett and I are better off without him."

"Yes, you are," Draco said, agreeing wholeheartedly with Hermione's sentiment.

"Can we just forget about him and enjoy the rest of our ride?" Hermione asked.

"Of course." Draco smiled at Hermione as she reached out and took her hand in his. Pulling her closer to him, he wrapped his arm around her as they sat back to enjoy the final few minutes in the pod.

By the time the pod reattached itself to the Ferris Wheel, Harry had been well and truly forgotten. There was also a closeness between Hermione and Draco that hadn't been there before the ride, and they spent the rest of the evening strolling around the fair hand in hand. By the time they were ready to call it a night, they were both more than willing to go out again. They still weren't sure how serious their relationship would get, but right now they were enjoying each other's company and they had every intention of seeing just where their romance would take them.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione stood in her small office space, taking a few deep breaths as she prepared to face a big weekend. The weekend could possibly determine the outcome of her romance with Draco, and Hermione was understandably nervous. It had been three months since their first date, and Hermione was well on her way to falling in love with the charming blond wizard. However, their relationship had been very much about them so far, but now they were preparing to test the waters with their parents and Hermione's daughter.

First on the agenda was the opening of the new French history exhibit, for which Draco had donated a considerable collection of the family's belongings. Considering so much of the Malfoys family history was going to be on show, Draco's parents had decided to come to Paris for the opening of the exhibit. Hermione knew they were also coming to meet her and Draco had told them all about their relationship.

The second part of the weekend, involved Draco spending Sunday afternoon at Hermione's house where he would meet her parents and Scarlett. However, right at the moment, Hermione couldn't think about her parents and daughter meeting her boyfriend. All she could think about were Draco's parents, and what they would make of her. She believed Draco when he'd told her that they'd changed enough not to have a major problem with the fact she was a muggleborn, but she wasn't sure what they thought about the fact she was a single mother. Somehow, she doubted they saw a muggleborn witch with a one year old daughter as the perfect partner for their only son.

"You won't find out hiding in here," Hermione muttered to herself.

Bracing herself to face whatever the afternoon threw at her, Hermione checked her appearance before striding out of her tiny office and into the main body of the museum. Normally Hermione didn't work Saturdays, but she'd made an exception with the new exhibit opening. After checking the rest of the museum was in good hands, Hermione made her way to the top floor, where the new exhibit was located. She arrived just in time to watch as the curator opened the exhibit with a flourish, and ushered their guests into the several rooms devoted to the exhibit.

Since Hermione was technically working, she didn't automatically search for her boyfriend as she entered the exhibit. Instead she focused on her job of mingling with the guests and answering any questions they had about the exhibit. Slowly Hermione made her way through the rooms being used for the exhibit, until she reached the room where the Malfoy display was located. It was in that room that Hermione finally found her boyfriend and his parents.

The second she entered the room, Draco had noticed her and he walked straight over to her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"This is amazing," He gushed. "It's a wonderful exhibit."

"I can't take all the credit, it was a team effort," Hermione replied with a smile. Even though she'd overseen a lot of the exhibit, there'd still been several other people involved in pulling it all together.

"I'm sure your input to the exhibit was invaluable," Draco said.

"And I'm just as sure that you're biased," Hermione chuckled.

"Perhaps," Draco agreed as he gently tucked a stray curl behind Hermione's ear. "I can't help it if I'm besotted with my beautiful girlfriend."

Hermione smiled at Draco, and just for a moment she let herself wish that the weekend went as they both desired. So far their relationship had been smooth sailing, despite the restrictions Hermione was under as a single mother. However, they were both well aware that they'd reached the crucial stage of their relationship. If things were ever going to become more serious, the weekend had to go well. They both had to integrate themselves with the others parents, but more importantly Draco had to prove once and for all that he could cope with the fact Hermione had a daughter. So far it had been pretty easy for him to be accepting of the situation considering he'd never met the girl in question, but all that would change the following day when he met Scarlett.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked his girlfriend. "You look a bit nervous."

"I am," Hermione confessed.

"About the exhibit?" Draco questioned.

"No, I think the exhibit is going down just fine," Hermione replied. "My nerves are all personal."

"My parents don't bite you know," Draco joked.

Hermione smiled, allowing Draco to lighten the mood. "Should we go and meet them then?" She asked.

"Okay, but don't worry. They know how I feel about you, they'll be nice, I promise," He vowed.

Hermione let Draco take hold of her hand and lead her across the room to where his parents were standing in front of an old portrait of some of the Malfoy ancestors, before they left France and moved to Britain. As they approached the older couple, Hermione took the time to really scrutinise Draco's parents. She'd seen Lucius around school a bit as he'd been a governor, but she'd only ever gotten the odd glimpse of Narcissa as Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Unsurprisingly Draco's parents were a very attractive couple, and they held themselves like two people who were entirely comfortable in their own skin and with their place in the world.

"Mother, Father, I'd like you to meet Hermione Granger," Draco announced as they reached his parents.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Granger," Lucius said, his grey eyes flicking over Hermione as he scrutinised the witch his son was involved with.

"You too, Mr Malfoy," Hermione replied, trying her hardest not to wither under Lucius's gaze. "And I would like to thank you for allowing some of your belongings to be part of the exhibit. This room really does add a great deal to the overall display."

"I suppose it's better than this stuff just sitting gathering dust at the family château," Lucius replied. "Although, funnily enough this exhibit has attracted the attention of the wizarding museum in London. They're wanting to do the same sort of thing, and they've made an approach to see if we'd be able to help in any way."

"Will you do it?" Draco asked as Hermione and Narcissa exchanged greetings.

"I suppose it all depends on what they want," Lucius replied with a shrug. "They did mention my ancestor Lucius the first, but I'm not sure we need his history raking up."

"Why not?" Draco asked with a laugh. "It could change people's perceptions of our family."

"Do you really think I care what people think about our family, Draco?" Lucius questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I think we'll leave Lucius the first where he belongs, in the sixteenth century."

"You look curious, dear," Narcissa remarked to Hermione as Lucius swiftly changed the topic and asked Draco about one of the pictures of the château on display. "Has Lucius whetted your appetite about his ancestor?"

"I am a bit curious," Hermione admitted. "Why does he want to leave him in the past?"

"For a long time, Lucius the first wasn't the most popular of Malfoys," Narcissa replied as he led Hermione away from her husband and son, who were busy talking. "He worked a lot with muggles, and built up quite a bit of the family fortune by trading with them. He was quite a rebel was Lucius."

"I wouldn't have thought that would have mattered these days," Hermione said, wondering if maybe Draco's parents weren't quite as enlightened as he thought.

"It doesn't, but for centuries the Malfoys have dismissed these rumours about the first Lucius," Narcissa explained. "They didn't want it thought that the Malfoys associated with muggles, let alone fell in love with one."

"Love? You're not about to tell me the Malfoys have muggle blood in their line, are you?"

"No," Narcissa laughed. "But the first Lucius did fall in love with a muggle. She was a queen, Elizabeth the first, I believe. Anyway, she spurned him and in his ire he hexed her, turning her against marriage. Of course it's all rumours the Malfoys have strongly denied over the years, and if Lucius drags it all back up, he'll either have to deny the claims like the rest of the family, or if he admits they could be true, he's calling the rest of his family liars. I think it's best to leave the first Lucius where he belongs, don't you?"

"It could be wise," Hermione replied with a fascinated nod. She definitely wanted to look into Narcissa's story and see if could be true, but she didn't get a lot of time to think about it as she became aware of Narcissa studying her.

"Sorry," Narcissa apologised when she realised Hermione had caught her staring. "I didn't mean to be rude, but I'm eager to get to know the girl who has stolen my son's heart."

"Stolen his heart?" Hermione questioned as the pair moved out onto one of the balcony's that were dotted around the top floor of the museum. "Did he say that?"

"Not in so many words, but I know my son," Narcissa replied with an elegant shrug. "He's rather taken with you, Miss Granger. In fact, I would even say he was falling in love with you."

"And you want to know if I feel the same?" Hermione asked.

"That is your business," Narcissa replied. "But I will ask you to think carefully before you enter into something that could hurt you both. Draco might seem tough on the outside, but deep down he's very sensitive. He doesn't love easily, but when he does, it's with his whole heart. I don't want to see him hurt."

"I don't want that either," Hermione confessed. "I really care for Draco. In fact, I've never felt like this about anyone. The last thing I want is for either of us to get hurt. But I'll admit it's not exactly straightforward."

"I don't suppose it is," Narcissa conceded. "I'm sure your daughter is your priority, and that's understandable. A mother puts her child before everyone else. But Draco is still my child, even though he's a grown man, and I won't stand back while he gets his heart shattered."

"May I ask why you're so convinced he's going to get hurt?" Hermione questioned. While Narcissa was being perfectly polite, and their earlier conversation had been pretty friendly, Hermione got the impression that Draco's mother wasn't entirely trusting of her.

"There's not just the two of you in your relationship," Narcissa pointed out. "There's not even three with your daughter. There's a fourth person here, and that's who I'm concerned about."

"A fourth person?" Hermione frowned, not sure who Narcissa was talking about.

"Your daughter's father," Narcissa said as she turned to look out over Paris, bathed in afternoon sunlight.

"He's not an issue," Hermione reassured the older witch. "Did Draco not tell you the story?"

"No, he didn't," A voice answered from behind the pair and Hermione turned round to find Draco and Lucius behind them, Draco looking at his mother in annoyance.

"Quite rightly, Draco wouldn't tell us anything than the bare minimum," Narcissa supplied. "He told us you had a daughter, and that the father wasn't in the picture, but that was all. Anything else has to come from you."

"And I didn't mean pressing Hermione as soon as you got her alone," Draco hissed at his mother.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I didn't mean to push you," Narcissa apologised. "I'm just curious and slightly worried."

"I understand," Hermione replied with a nod. Now she knew what Narcissa's problem was, she could understand why Draco's mother was so wary of her. "I really should get back to check on the rest of the guests, but I should be finished in an hour. Maybe we could all go and get a drink before I go home, and I can explain my situation to you."

"Hermione, you don't have to explain anything," Draco told his girlfriend.

"No, I want to," Hermione insisted. "If we're serious about being together, your parents need to know everything. They have a right to know just who you're getting involved with and what her history is. Besides, it might help set your mother's mind at ease. Once she knows the story, she'll know there's no way Scarlett's father will be waltzing back into the picture and pushing you aside."

Making arrangements to meet the Malfoys when she'd finished, Hermione headed back into the museum and got on with making sure the rest of the guests were having a good time. Once she finished work, she quickly called her parents to make sure they were okay with having Scarlett for a bit longer before she grabbed her jacket and bag and went to meet Draco and his parents in the lobby. However, when she got to the lobby, it was just her boyfriend waiting for her.

"Where are your parents?" Hermione asked.

"They're waiting for us in the bar of the hotel they're staying at," Draco supplied. "I sent them on ahead so I could speak to you alone. I'm so sorry Hermione, I warned mother not to interfere."

"It's okay Draco, she's just looking out for her son," Hermione replied. "Given my circumstances, I can understand her hesitance. In her shoes, I'd be asking the same questions."

"Even so, you don't have to tell them anything," Draco argued. "This is your personal business, and they don't need to know the ins and outs of your past."

"I'm not going to go into details, but I meant what I said earlier," Hermione replied. "If we really want to make this work, they're going to need to know this stuff."

"I do want to make this work," Draco said quietly as he pulled Hermione into his arms and gave her a deep kiss.

Hermione was more than happy to lose herself in the kiss for several moments. Over the course of the last three months the physical side of her relationship was Draco had slowly built up, and these days it was pretty hard for them to keep their hands off each other. Despite the fact they'd never managed to spend the whole night together, because of Hermione's reluctance to leave Scarlett overnight, they had managed to sleep together and the sex was the best either of them had ever had.

"We should be going," Hermione muttered as she slowly tore her lips away from Draco's. "Your parents will be waiting for us."

Draco let out a quiet complaint about his parents, as he wrapped Hermione in his arms and spirited them off to the fancy hotel his parents were staying at. As promised, Lucius and Narcissa had grabbed them a private corner table and they'd even gotten in a round of drinks.

"Are we eating?" Lucius asked.

"I'm afraid I can only stay for an hour or so," Hermione replied. "My parents have Scarlett, but I like to be there to tuck her in."

"Of course," Lucius said with an understudying nod as he picked up his glass of firewhisky and took a drink.

Hermione picked up her own wine glass, and taking a hearty drink of the rose wine inside, she told Draco's parents her history. As she told her story she never mentioned Harry by name, although she would inform the Malfoys of who Scarlett's father was if things carried on going so well between herself and Draco. She made sure Draco's parents were aware that Scarlett's father was not an issue, he hadn't wanted to know either when she was pregnant, or when Scarlett was born, and Hermione didn't plan on letting him be involved at any other point in her life. Although she also made it clear that it wasn't likely to even be an issue as Scarlett's father now had a wife and another child that he had wanted.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," Narcissa said as she reached out and clasped the young witches hands in hers. "I had no idea you'd been through so much."

"I've survived," Hermione replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Scarlett and I have moved on. Her father is in the past, which is where he belongs."

"Quite right too," Lucius agreed. "Some men don't deserve to be fathers. You have to be a heartless bastard to abandon your child, and I think you and your daughter are better off without him."

"Yes, we are. Luckily, not all men are like him and I happen to think I've now found a good one," Hermione said, smiling at Draco.

As Draco smiled back at Hermione, his parents shared a secretive smile of their own. It was clear to both of them that their son was in love with Hermione. They just hoped the meeting with her daughter went well and that the relationship continued to flourish. The young couple deserved some happiness, and it looked like they'd found it with each other.


	7. Chapter 7

After Sunday lunch with her parents and daughter, Hermione immediately began getting Scarlett ready to meet Draco. She doubted her boyfriend would care what her daughter was wearing, but Hermione wanted everything to be perfect. She didn't want Scarlett meeting Draco wearing grubby clothes.

"Hermione dear, you have to relax," Jean urged her daughter as Hermione fussed over getting Scarlett changed. "It's not the queen coming for the afternoon."

"I know, but I just want everything to be perfect," Hermione admitted. "This afternoon is important to me."

"I know it is," Jean said, smiling at her daughter. "But I really don't think Draco will care what dress Scarlett is wearing. He's coming to meet her, not judge a fashion show."

"It's stupid, isn't it?" Hermione chuckled, turning to her mother.

"Not stupid, you're just nervous," Jean replied.

"I am," Hermione confirmed. "Things went pretty well with Draco's parents yesterday, so I just want things to go as well today."

"I'm sure they will," Jean reassured her daughter. "Now bring Scarlett into the front room and relax until Draco gets here."

Picking her daughter up, Hermione followed her mother down to the front room. A selection of Scarlett's toys were scattered around the room, and Hermione placed her daughter on her play mat. Immediately, Scarlett turned away from her mother and began chattering on to her toys. Hermione watched her daughter for a minute, before she settled down to wait for her boyfriend to arrive.

As they waited for Draco to arrive, Hermione's parents took another opportunity to check with their daughter that she was sure about Draco. Richard and Jean were actually pleased their daughter had moved on and found someone, and they approved of Hermione taking things slowly. However, she was their only daughter and Scarlett was their granddaughter and they wanted to make sure neither of them were going to get hurt.

"I promise you, Draco won't hurt us," Hermione vowed. "I really like him and I have to see where this goes."

"And we'll support you the entire way," Richard promised his daughter with a smile.

"Thank you, Daddy," Hermione replied, giving her father a hug just as the doorbell rang.

At the sound of the doorbell, Hermione jumped to her feet. Taking a few calming breaths, she hurried out of the front room and towards the door. Pulling open the door she found her boyfriend standing on the doorstep looking nearly as nervous as she felt.

"Hey," She greeted with a smile.

"Hey," Draco returned.

"Come in," Hermione said, stepping back and letting her boyfriend into the house. When Draco stepped into the house, Hermione realised her boyfriend was carrying a small purple gift bag. "A present?" She teased, eyeing the bag.

"Yes, but not for you," Draco replied. "I've already won you over, this is for the littlest Granger. I need to charm her so she'll let her Mummy keep seeing me."

"I'm not sure a one year old understands bribery," Hermione chuckled.

"But she understands presents," Draco retorted. "It'll help me dazzle her."

"Whatever you say," Hermione replied with a smile. "Come on then, let's go and meet the family."

Taking hold of Draco's hand, Hermione led him into the front room. The first thing she did was introduce him to her parents, both of whom greeted him pleasantly before they headed into the kitchen to make some tea. Hermione then picked up Scarlett and brought her over to where Draco was standing.

"Scarlett this is Draco. Are you going to say, hello?" Hermione said to her daughter. Scarlett looked at Draco through her thick eyelashes, before ducking her head and nuzzling into Hermione's neck. "Sorry, she's bit shy with strangers."

"It's okay," Draco replied as he reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a small red dragon soft toy. "Hello Scarlett," He said to the one year old who was shyly peering at him through Hermione's hair. "This is for you."

Draco held the toy out for Scarlett, and ever so slowly the little girl reached out and grabbed the dragon in her hand. As Scarlett took the dragon off Draco, Hermione noticed her daughter's name was stitched onto the sole of the dragon's paw. Clearly Draco hadn't just picked up some random toy before visiting, he'd taken the time to find a present especially for Scarlett.

"Say thank you," Hermione urged her daughter.

"Tanks," Scarlett whispered softly, clutching onto the toy dragon.

As she thanked Draco, Scarlett gave him a small smile and his heart melted. When she was smiling she was the most adorable little girl he'd ever seen. How anyone could walk away from her was a mystery, and he decided there and then that not only was Harry a bastard for leaving his daughter, but he was a major fool as well. He was missing out on seeing a gorgeous little girl grow up, just because he didn't have the balls to take responsibility for his mistakes.

"The dragon is lovely," Hermione remarked as she put Scarlett back down on the floor, and her daughter instantly started introducing her new dragon to her other soft toys, including the large unicorn Draco had won at the fair. "Where did you get it?"

"A little toy maker just outside of Paris," Draco replied. "I chose a dragon because of my name, I then asked for it be died red and then I had Scarlett's name added to the paw."

"It's a lovely gift," Hermione said softly. It meant a lot to her that Draco had put such a lot of thought into buying a gift for her daughter, it certainly showed he was serious about them giving things a proper try.

"Hopefully the first of many," Draco said as he and Hermione settled down on the sofa beside Scarlett.

Hermione didn't have a chance to reply and tell Draco she hoped he was right, before her parents came back into the room carrying a tray of tea and biscuits. Settling down opposite the couple, Richard and Jean poured the tea before they started asking Draco various questions about himself. To his credit Draco didn't complain about the attention the Grangers were showing him, he just answered their questions. He reassured them that he was nothing like the boy Hermione had first met when they'd started Hogwarts, and more importantly he convinced them that he cared about Hermione and he wanted a future with her and Scarlett.

The Grangers spent a couple of hours getting to know Draco, before they headed home leaving Hermione and Draco to spend some quality time with Scarlett. After her parents had left, Hermione tidied up some of her daughter's toys as Scarlett had fallen asleep playing with them. While Hermione tidied up, Draco picked Scarlett up and settled her on the sofa, with her new dragon still clutched in her hand.

"She looks so like you," Draco said softly, running his hand through Scarlett's soft dark brown hair. Apart from the fact Scarlett's hair was several shades darker than Hermione's, she was the spitting image of her mother.

"Is it awful, if I say I think that's a good thing?" Hermione asked.

"Given the circumstances, I don't think that's awful at all," Draco reassured his girlfriend. "I think it's better she looks like you, than like him. I suppose this way it's easier to forget about what a loser her father is."

"It is," Hermione agreed with a nod of her head. "But I'm constantly aware that one day I'm going to have to tell her the truth. I'm going to have to tell her that her father didn't want to know her. One day she's going to know just how unwanted she was."

"Only by him," Draco corrected. "She will grow up knowing how much you wanted and love her. Your parents clearly dote on her as well. I think Scarlett will know she's got people who love her. She doesn't need him in her life."

Of course it remained unsaid that Scarlett would possibly have Draco in her life as she grew up, but it was what they were both thinking. They both wanted their relationship to work, and so far they hadn't hit any major problems. Scarlett was probably too young to cause any real problems for the pair, and it was likely she would get used to Draco the more time he spent with Hermione.

With Scarlett sleeping soundly on the sofa, Hermione cracked open a bottle of wine and she and Draco settled down to spend the rest of the afternoon together. Hermione educated Draco in the delights of television, and the pair watched a film as Scarlett slept.

"That was different," Draco remarked as the film finished.

"Good different, or bad different?" Hermione asked.

"Good, I enjoyed it," Draco replied. "It's a rather relaxing way to spend a few hours."

"It is if you only do it occasionally," Hermione replied. "I don't watch too much television, so when I do I always enjoy it."

Knowing Scarlett would be waking up soon, Hermione decided against a second film. Instead she flicked around the channels, before settling on a comedy series to leave on in the background as she and Draco chatted away. However, the first episode of the comedy had barely finished before Scarlett woke up, needing changing and screaming for her tea.

"Sorry," Hermione said, wrinkling her nose at the smell had daughter had produced. "This is her decidedly un-cute side. I need to change and feed her."

"Don't let me stop you," Draco replied. "Unless I'm in your way and I can leave."

"Don't leave," Hermione said. "I was hoping you would stay for dinner once I've got Scarlett down for the night."

"Dinner sounds great," Draco said. "And don't worry about me. You just make sure Scarlett is okay. I can occupy myself for a while."

Suspecting Draco was going to have a nose around the front room, Hermione took her screaming daughter out of the front room. Over half an hour later, Scarlett had been changed, fed, bathed, and was back to her normal happy self as Hermione returned to the front room with her.

"All sorted?" Draco asked from the sofa as he tore his eyes away from the television in the corner of the room.

"Yes, just a story and then she's ready to settle down for the night," Hermione answered. "Or at least she's ready to go to bed, it doesn't mean she's going to sleep all night."

"Sleeping all night is overrated," Draco replied, giving Hermione a flirty look before turning his attention to Scarlett and tweaking her nose, causing her to giggle uproariously.

"You know what, I think your bribery worked," Hermione chuckled as Draco continued to make Scarlett giggle happily. "She's a fan."

"She's a witch with good taste, just like her mother," Draco replied with a cocky grin. "How about I read Scarlett her bedtime story?"

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sure," Draco replied with a nod as he held his hands out for the baby.

Hermione was unsure how Scarlett would react to being in Draco's arms, but she handed her daughter over anyway. Initially Scarlett was a little bit hesitant, but Draco grabbed her new dragon soft toy and he soon had her giggling happily in his arms.

"Do you want a book?" Hermione asked.

"I'm good," Draco answered. "I'm going to tell Scarlett all about her dragon, and where she comes from."

Curious as to what her boyfriend was going to do, Hermione took a seat and watched Draco interact with her daughter. He was a natural with her, and Hermione could tell that Scarlett was quite content in his arms as he waved the toy dragon around and made up a story about the dragon, complete with funny voices that amused Scarlett. By the end of the story, Scarlett was starting to doze off and she was once again clutching her new toy.

"Yep, she's a fan," Draco announced in a proud voice as he cradled a sleeping Scarlett.

"She's not the only one," Hermione said, smiling at her boyfriend as she plucked her daughter from his arms. "After that display, I think I'm falling for you even more."

"Because I can tell a good story?" Draco questioned with a mischievous smile.

"No, because you are great with my daughter," Hermione replied softly. "You showed her so much care and affection, it really means a lot to me. Thank you."

"It's easy, she's a gorgeous child, Hermione," Draco said. "I've really enjoyed meeting her."

"And you would do it again?" Hermione asked.

"In a heartbeat," Draco replied.

Hermione smiled at Draco, and giving him a quick peck she headed off upstairs with Scarlett. Settling her daughter down in her crib, she made sure she was sleeping soundly before she activated the baby monitor and returned to her boyfriend.

"Thank you," Hermione repeated, crossing straight to where Draco was sitting and planting a searing kiss on his lips.

"What was that for?" Draco asked as he pulled Hermione down onto his lap.

"Everything," Hermione replied, snuggling into Draco and breathing in his familiar aftershave. "I'm so lucky to have found you."

"I'm the lucky one to have found you," Draco replied quietly. "I'm very lucky that you've allowed me into your life, and into Scarlett's life. And I promise I will do anything I can to make sure you are both happy."

"I'm already happy," Hermione confessed. "Just being here with you, is what makes me happy."

"Good, because being with you makes me happy as well," Draco replied.

Leaning up, he connected their lips once again, and as the couple made out on the sofa, dinner was temporarily forgotten. Right now they were revelling in the fact the weekend had gone well and they could now start looking to the future. A future they were positive they were going to spend together.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N – This chapter features a few more time skips as we head towards the end of part one, and into part two where all the drama awaits.**

* * *

As Hermione buzzed around the kitchen, helping her mother prepare a small birthday tea for Scarlett, she got distracted as she looked out of the window and spotted her daughter outside. Scarlett was happily running around in the back garden, playing with her new rabbit, Jinx, who was in his rabbit run. Although her two year old daughter wasn't alone in the garden, she was being supervised by Draco and the pair looked to be having a whale of a time together.

Hermione could hardly believe it had been just over a year since Draco had walked into her life and changed it so dramatically. The last year had been a whirlwind for Hermione, and she'd never been happier in her life. Her relationship with Draco was going from strength to strength, and since meeting Scarlett over eight months ago, Draco had embraced her little girl. In fact he doted on Scarlett and the feeling was mutual. Scarlett loved Draco, and she was never happier than when the blond wizard was around.

"They make a cute pair," Jean remarked, peering over her daughter's shoulder to see what had captured her attention.

"They do," Hermione agreed with a smile as she watched Scarlett showing Draco the best way to feed a piece of lettuce to her new rabbit. "They've really taken to each other."

"That's a good thing," Jean replied. "Imagine how much difficult it would be if they've never accepted each other."

"If that was the case, I very much doubt Draco would still be in my life," Hermione said, feeling grateful that her boyfriend and daughter had indeed hit it off.

In fact they got on a hell of a lot better than Hermione had ever anticipated as Draco was surprisingly good with Scarlett. He had a natural way with children that had surprised Hermione. It had also surprised Draco, and he'd confessed to her a few months ago that he'd been terrified of meeting Scarlett as he had no prior experience with children. Not that you would know it looking at him now, he was a natural with Scarlett and the pair already had a strong bond.

"What time are Lucius and Narcissa arriving?" Jean asked, pulling Hermione out of her thoughts.

"They should be here in ten minutes or so," Hermione answered as she checked the time.

Like Draco, Lucius and Narcissa had hit it off with Scarlett and Hermione's parents. The Malfoys hadn't spent quite as much time with Scarlett, but they'd seen more of her in the last couple of months as things continued to get ever more serious between Hermione and Draco. Hermione's parents had also been taken with the Malfoys, and the two couples often exchanged stories about their vastly different lives and experiences living in two separate worlds. And worries Hermione had initially had about Draco's parents being uneasy consorting with muggles, had long since been dealt with, and both Lucius and Narcissa had never been anything other than totally polite to the Grangers.

"Hermione dear, go and ask your father where he put my icing tools," Jean said. "I need to finish Scarlett's cake."

Unlike Hermione, who struggled to cook anything without the aid of magic, Jean was a whizz in the kitchen and like the previous year she'd rustled up her granddaughter a cake. The previous year's cake had been the number one, whereas this one was a bit more adventurous and incorporated Scarlett's new found love of anything to do with dragons. Currently sitting on the bench was a red dragon cake, and all Jean needed to do was add a few more details and some writing on the ground, to make it look as though the dragon had scorched a message onto the cake board with its fiery breath.

Heading into the front room, Hermione found her father sitting on the sofa watching the cricket. Cricket was her father's favourite sport, and Hermione was used to him watching any bit of action he could find on the television. He was currently watching the world cup, a match between South Africa and Sri Lanka.

"Dad, Mum wants to know where you've put her icing tools," Hermione said to her father.

"Two minutes," Richard replied, not tearing his eyes away from the screen.

Hermione glanced at the screen just in time to see a ball getting crashed into the stands and the crowds erupting in cheers. As she watched it became clear that the celebrations were because the shot had gotten one of the South African players to a century.

"Fantastic," Richard muttered in awe. "The boy's a genius."

"A fan, are you?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.

"Too right, I am," Richard replied with a hearty nod. "He's an ingenious batsman, a great wicket-keeper and a red hot fielder. Brilliant cricketer."

"Good for him," Hermione said. "But what about Mum's icing tools? She needs them for Scarlett's cake."

"In the blue carrier bag I put in the cupboard beside the fridge," Richard replied, waving a dismissive hand at his daughter as he continued to focus on his cricket match.

"Thanks," Hermione chuckled, going back to her mother and leaving her father to his precious cricket.

As Jean finished off Scarlett's cake, Hermione made sure the rest of the food was ready before checking on her daughter. Hermione opened the back door to go and check on Scarlett, only to find her daughter toddling towards her, Draco watching her carefully.

"Mummy, potty," Scarlett said, holding out her hand for Hermione.

Hermione took her daughter back inside to deal with her need, and when she was finished she walked her back outside. When they reached the garden, Draco was lying on the grass seemingly with his eyes closed. Scarlett quickly slid her hand out of Hermione's hand and went running over to Draco and pounced on his stomach. Hermione winced, unsure of her boyfriend's reaction, but he was clearly expecting Scarlett to pounce on him as he immediately wrapped her in his arms and began tickling her. Hermione smiled as she watched her daughter giggling happily with Draco.

"It's nearly time to eat," Hermione called to the pair.

"Okay," Draco replied. Getting to his feet, he picked Scarlett up and placed her on his shoulders.

"We've also got presents," Hermione added to her giggling daughter.

By the time the trio headed back into the house, Lucius and Narcissa had arrived. Richard had turned the television down, and had left his cricket, but Hermione noticed the match was still playing in the background. Hermione also noticed that Lucius kept eyeing the television warily, which was probably due to the fact it still puzzled him. And it probably didn't help that on his first visit to the house, Scarlett had accidentally sat on the buttons and turned the television on full blast, giving both Lucius and Narcissa a major shock.

"How's the birthday girl," Narcissa cooed, giving Scarlett a hug. "Have you had lots of presents?"

"Her big present is in the garden," Hermione replied. "I got her a rabbit."

"Should we open her other presents now?" Jean asked.

Settling Scarlett down on the sofa, the little girl was bombarded with gifts. As well as the rabbit, Hermione had bought her a new pair of pyjamas and a couple of toys. Richard and Jean had bought her a set of dolls, with several changes of clothing. Lucius and Narcissa had bought her a magical fairy house, complete with a small enchanted toy fairy that fluttered in and around the intricately designed house. As for Draco, he'd bought Scarlett a large story book about dragons. The book was interactive with pop-up pictures and buttons that made noises.

"Dragons again?" Hermione chuckled as Scarlett lovingly stroked the dragon on the front cover of the book.

"Dragons are the best," Draco replied with a smirk. "I'm just making sure she falls in love with dragons."

"Dragons in general, or one in particular?" Hermione teased.

"Dragons in general are pretty cool, but there is one who is pretty special," Draco answered, exchanging smiles with his girlfriend. "I admit, I want her to love me."

"She already does," Hermione replied, stroking her daughter's hair as she sat in between her and Draco.

"And her mother?" Draco asked.

"She might," Hermione replied, smiling coyly at her boyfriend. "She certainly thinks there's one dragon who's very special."

Draco smiled at Hermione, and leant over Scarlett to kiss Hermione. However, the second their lips met, Richard and Lucius both cleared their throats, reminding the couple they weren't alone. With a chuckle, the pair shared a brief kiss before they separated and turned their attention to spending the rest of the day celebrating Scarlett's second birthday.

* * *

"I'm so sorry about this," Hermione said as she returned to where Draco was lounging on the sofa.

It was Hermione's birthday, and the couple had been planning on going out for the evening, but Scarlett wasn't well. Instead of cancelling their date, Draco had just suggested they had a night in instead. However, Hermione had been up and down to Scarlett several times as the two year old was having trouble settling down to sleep.

"It's fine," Draco reassured his girlfriend as she sat back down beside him. "How is she?"

"She's still got a temperature," Hermione replied. "I did get her off to sleep, so hopefully she can manage a couple of hours before she disturbs us again."

"Let's make the most of that time, shall we?" Draco said with a wicked grin.

"Let's," Hermione agreed, leaning over and connecting her lips with Draco's.

Draco pulled Hermione closer to him as he tangled one hand in her soft curls, while the other one trailed down her side and slid under her top. Hermione gasped slightly as Draco's warm hand traced patterns on her stomach, before creeping up towards her chest. As his fingers stroked her through the lacy material of her bra, she broke off their kiss and looked at her boyfriend with lust.

"We could get disturbed," She whispered.

"If we do, we do," Draco shrugged. "It's worth a shot, don't you think?"

Hermione nodded once before she returned her lips to Draco's as she pushed him backwards on the sofa and straddled him. As Draco's hand continued to lavish attention on Hermione's chest, her hands went wandering down her lover's body. Reaching for Draco's zipper, she yanked it down and plunged her hand into his trousers. Draco hissed at the feeling of Hermione's hand on him, and as he rocked his hips towards her, he dislodged something in his pocket and it went tumbling to the floor with a soft thud. The thud caught Hermione's attention, and tearing her lips away from Draco's, she turned to see what the noise was.

"What's this?" She asked, reaching for the small deep purple box that had fallen on the carpet.

Draco was so distracted by what he was doing, that he failed to notice what Hermione had in her hand until it was right in front of him. However, by the time he spotted the box that was in his girlfriend's possession, understanding had dawned on Hermione's face.

"Is this what I think it is?" Hermione asked.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Draco replied with a sigh as the pair straightened themselves up.

"It was supposed to be dinner at a romantic restaurant," Hermione whispered, still staring at the box in her hand.

"Actually it was supposed to be after dinner," Draco corrected. "I was going to take you for a walk and do it in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. But when we changed plans, I was going to find the perfect time tonight."

"And this isn't it?" Hermione teased.

"Funny enough I don't think the perfect time to propose is right before we have sex," Draco responded with a roll of his eyes. "Especially when the ring just falls from my pocket."

"Do you want it back and I can pretend I haven't seen it?" Hermione asked, offering him the box.

Draco plucked the box from Hermione's fingers, and she thought he was going to return it to his pocket. However, after rolling the box around in his hands, he turned to Hermione with a serious expression on his face.

"This may not be the perfect time or the perfect place, but frankly I can't think of anywhere better than being here with you and Scarlett," Draco began. "That day we re-met in the museum changed my life in the best way possible. These last eighteen months have been the best of my life, and I know what I want more than anything is to have a future with you and Scarlett. I love you both so much, and it would mean more to me than I could ever explain if you agreed to be my wife."

Draco finished his proposal by flicking open the small box, revealing a delicate silver ring with a beautifully cut diamond surrounded by tiny rubies and emeralds. Hermione only looked at the ring for a few seconds, before she flung her arms around Draco and accepted his offer as tears flowed down her face.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll marry you," She whispered happily.

"Please stop crying," Draco said, swiping at his new fiancée's tears.

"Sorry, I can't help it," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm just so happy."

"Even though it wasn't the perfect proposal?" Draco asked with a chuckle as he slid the ring out of the box and onto Hermione's finger.

"It was the perfect proposal," Hermione corrected. "Sure, it was a bit unorthodox, but it was perfect for us. It doesn't matter where and when we got engaged, the important thing is that we are and we're going to be a family."

"Speaking of which, there's something I want to ask you," Draco said nervously. "Feel free to tell me to sod off if you want. But I need to ask. How would you feel if when we got married, I also adopted Scarlett? I understand if you don't want me to, and I won't try and pressure you into changing your mind. She's your daughter and the decision rests with you."

"Draco, stop babbling," Hermione interrupted, placing a finger over her fiancé's lips to shut him up. "I think you adopting Scarlett is an amazing idea. But are you sure? You don't need to do this to prove to me that you love her, I already know that."

"This isn't about proving anything," Draco reassured his fiancée. "This is about the fact I love Scarlett. You're going to be my wife, and I would love her to officially be my daughter. I want the three of us to be a proper family."

"As long as you're sure, I'm happy to do that," Hermione replied with a smile. "We can be a proper family, just the three of us."

"Three for now," Draco corrected with a smirk. "I was hoping at some point we could extend the family."

"Were you now?" Hermione grinned at Draco, delighted at the idea of expanding their family one day in the future. "In that case, maybe we should get some practice in. We were in the middle of something before the proposal."

"Yes, we were," Draco replied.

Pulling Hermione back into his arms, he sunk back onto the sofa, and the pair quickly shed their clothes as they resumed their previous activities while Scarlett was still sleeping. Afterwards, they retired to Hermione's room for the night and when Scarlett woke up crying a few hours later, Hermione settled her in between her and Draco in her bed. Nestled in between her mother and her future father, Scarlett slept soundly for the rest of the night, as did Draco and Hermione. Soon they would officially be a family, but unofficially they'd already taken that step.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – I'm so thrilled so many people are enjoying Scarlett Dragon, and I just want to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews.**

 **This first part of this chapter is transitional and describes events over a few months, getting from Draco and Hermione's engagement in the previous chapter to their wedding (which will take place in the next chapter). As such, I just want to clarify that there's not a mistake in regards to Scarlett's age in this chapter. At the beginning of the chapter when Scarlett is mentioned she's referred to as being two, but later on in the chapter she's three. That is because Scarlett was two when Draco and Hermione got engaged, and although it's not mentioned in the first part of the chapter, she had her third birthday in the spring before Draco and Hermione's wedding.**

 **I also want to say that I have no idea what the laws are surrounding adoptions – but since this is first of all my story, and second set in a fictional magical world with different laws – I've made my own decision on how Scarlett's adoption is handled and the process it takes.**

* * *

An engagement didn't mean a quick wedding and an immediate happily ever after, as Hermione and Draco soon discovered once they got engaged. Things were a lot more complicated than that for the couple, and once they'd had time to get used to the fact they were getting married, they'd been able to start planning for their future together with Scarlett.

The first thing the couple did following their engagement was inform their parents of the news. Both the Malfoys and the Grangers were thrilled with the news, and both couples offered their heartiest congratulations to the young couple. Hermione and Draco also told Scarlett of their news, although they were quite sure how much the two year old understood. But at the end of the day it didn't matter if Scarlett didn't understand everything that was going on, as long as she was happy and adapted to the changes in her life, Hermione and Draco were happy.

After taking a few weeks to let the dust settle on their engagement, Hermione and Draco set about looking into what needed sorting. The very first thing they decided to look into was Draco's adoption of Scarlett. The couple visited a lawyer to find out just where they stood, and they were pleased to hear that because Harry wasn't on Scarlett's birth certificate and he'd never provided for her, they had no obligation to inform him of the adoption. However, while it was easy enough for Draco to adopt Scarlett, it was going to take some time for all the paperwork to go through and for the adoption to become official. Even after they'd filed the appropriate paperwork, Draco and Hermione were informed it could take between six months and a year for everything to be officially processed and for the adoption to fully go through.

With the adoption under-way, the couple then turned their attention to what would happen after the wedding. Before they could even think about the wedding itself, they wanted to get the rest of their future sorted, specifically where they were going to live after the wedding. Draco's penthouse was lovely, but Hermione liked the idea of Scarlett having a garden to play in. Draco fully agreed with Hermione, that a penthouse wasn't a suitable place to raise a family.

Hermione's house was the natural answer, but while it was a nice house, it was pretty small. If they were going to add to the family, which they both wanted to do in the future, they were going to need a bigger house. However, both Draco and Hermione agreed the village Hermione lived in was perfect. Since it was a pretty exclusive village there was no riff-raff and all the neighbours knew each other. All in all, it was a perfect place to raise a family, and they both agreed that if it was possible they would love to stay in the village.

Unfortunately, when the couple began to look into staying in the village, they couldn't find a house that fitted with what they wanted. However, Draco did find some land for sale on the edge of the village and he suggested they bought it and built their own dream house. Hermione was agreeable to the idea, but she didn't want to alienate the rest of the village and she insisted that before they did anything, they got approval from the village council. Luckily, Hermione was a popular member of the community and the village council gave their permission for the couple to build a new house, providing that it was in keeping with the rest of the village.

Thanks to a business connection of Draco's, the couple found themselves an architect and they designed themselves their dream house. When the designs for the house were complete, the couple presented them to the village council and gained their seal of approval. With everything in place, the couple bought the land they needed and the first week of January work on their house got under-way, with the hope that it would be completed by the end of summer.

With the adoption and the house both sorted, the couple turned their attention to the wedding in the New Year. Instead of picking a date, they decided to think about what sort of wedding they wanted. Neither of them wanted a big wedding, but they also wanted something more than a small private affair. While Hermione had left behind all her friends in England, Draco hadn't, and he wanted his friends at the wedding. In fact, Draco even suggested that he arranged for her to meet his friends as she hadn't done so, despite the fact he often spoke about them.

In between Draco arranging for Hermione to meet his friends, the couple found a small hotel in the French countryside that was the perfect place for their wedding. The hotel was more than happy to host the entire wedding weekend, and provide accommodation for as many people as needed it. Luckily they had a weekend at the end of June available which the couple booked without a second thought.

With the date set, it was time for details to be sorted, and that was where Jean and Narcissa proved themselves invaluable. The two women were a godsend to Hermione, and they helped her sort everything from the guest list and the catering to the decorations, flowers and her wedding dress. With the pair helping out wherever they could, the wedding got sorted and all too soon it was time for the actual wedding weekend.

The wedding itself was taking place on the Sunday afternoon, although most of the guests were arriving at the hotel on the Saturday. Hermione and Draco had arranged for close friends and family to have dinner together on the Saturday evening. Blaise was among the close friends having dinner with the couple as he was Best Man, and he'd arrived at Draco's penthouse to help his best friend make sure he had everything prepared for the wedding.

"This place is nice," Blaise remarked as he poked around the penthouse while Draco packed a few last minute things.

"Yeah," Draco replied absent-mindedly. To be honest it had been several months since he'd spent any real time at the penthouse as he spent most of his time at Hermione's house. In fact, all his stuff was at Hermione's as their house wasn't quite ready yet and he was just going to live with her and Scarlett after the wedding until it was time for them to move.

"I've got a surprise for you," Blaise continued.

"For the wedding?" Draco asked, looking up at his friend.

"No, just in general," Blaise remarked. "Guess who's just signed for a French quidditch team?"

Blaise was a professional quidditch player, and for the last few years he'd been playing in Italy. However, he'd often spoken about trying to play in as many countries as he could as he was a bit of a free spirit and loved the idea of living in lots of different countries.

"That's good," Draco said.

"It is," Blaise agreed. "Only it means I need somewhere to live."

"No," Draco interrupted, shaking his head.

"No, what?" Blaise pouted.

"No, you're not moving in with Hermione and me," Draco replied. "We may be building a new house, but it doesn't include a room for you."

"As if I would want to live with some newly-weds," Blaise snorted. "The only thing that will be keeping the pair of you under control is Scarlett. If it wasn't for her, you'd be at it all over the new house. As it is, it'll be sex all the time. I don't want to be a part of that."

"So what were you angling at then?" Draco asked.

"Well, you're moving so this place is free," Blaise answered, gesturing to the Parisian penthouse they were standing in.

"You want my penthouse?"

"You haven't sold it, have you?"

"No," Draco admitted. "I hadn't made any decisions about what to do with it."

"Then consider me your saviour," Blaise said with a grin. "I'll take the place off your hands. I can pay you rent with a view to buying if I like Paris. What do you say, do we have a deal?"

"It would be one less thing for me to worry about," Draco replied. "Okay Blaise, the place is yours."

"Excellent, when can I move in?"

"As soon as you want," Draco answered. "This is the last of my stuff," He added, gesturing to the bag he'd just packed. "As of now, I've moved out."

"Great," Blaise grinned, checking out the penthouse and making a few mental notes on some changes he would make to the décor. "So does that mean we're ready to go to the hotel?"

"We are," Draco answered. "And remember to keep your speech clean, Blaise. There will be a little girl present."

"Draco's she's smart, but she's only three," Blaise pointed out. "She won't understand half of what I have to say."

"She doesn't have to understand it to ask about it," Draco retorted. "She's like a little sponge, absorbing knowledge from what she hears. She's always asking questions about things she's heard people talking about. So keep it clean Blaise, I don't fancy explaining to my three year old daughter what sex is."

"Your daughter?" Blaise smiled at his friend's wording. He knew Draco was adopting Scarlett, and he'd heard Scarlett call Draco 'Daddy' a couple of times, but it was the first time he'd heard Draco call Scarlett his daughter.

"It's official," Draco replied with a grin. "The papers came through this morning. Scarlett's my daughter."

"Congratulations, mate," Blaise offered with a smile. "And it's perfect timing. Today you gain a daughter, tomorrow you get a wife."

"Yep, it's all falling into place," Draco replied. "Although if we don't hurry up, we're going to be late and Hermione will kill us."

"I think you mean she'll kill you," Blaise chuckled as Draco secured the penthouse.

"No, I mean us," Draco corrected his friend. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me. I'll blame you for making me late, and you'll feel my fiancée's wrath."

"Let's try and avoid that," Blaise muttered as he grabbed some floo powder.

"Let's," Draco agreed as he also grabbed some floo powder and the pair headed off to the hotel where Draco was going to be married the following day.

Thanks to the interference of their mothers, Draco found himself in a room on his own when he checked into the hotel. Even though he and Hermione would be spending the following night in the honeymoon suite, for the night before the wedding they had separate rooms. However, that didn't stop Draco from setting off to find his fiancée's room the second he'd checked in and deposited his bags in his room.

Draco found Hermione in her room, with an excitable Scarlett. Scarlett was running around with her favourite stuffed dragon, excited by all the fuss. Of course, even though it was Draco and Hermione's wedding, Scarlett was still receiving plenty of attention. She was going to be the flower girl, and she had her own specially made dress for the occasion.

"Daddy!" Scarlett flung herself at Draco the second he entered the room.

"Hey, princess," Draco said, swinging Scarlett up into his arms as he greeted her. "Are you being a good girl for your Mummy?"

"I'm a good girl," Scarlett replied with a cheeky grin.

"She's an excited girl," Hermione supplied as she gave Draco a peck on the cheek. "I think someone's looking forward to tomorrow, aren't you Scarlett?"

Scarlett nodded her head at her mother as she snuggled closer to Draco. Draco placed a kiss on the top of Scarlett's dark brown hair as he sat down on the bed with her. Reaching into her pocket he pulled out a red box.

"I've got a present for you," He said to the three year old.

"Another one?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to her fiancé and daughter. "You spoil her, Draco."

"She deserves to be spoilt," Draco replied with a shrug. "But this present is to mark the day I officially become Scarlett's father."

Opening the box, Draco revealed a small silver charm bracelet. On the bracelet was a silver charm of a dragon holding a red heart in its claws. Taking the bracelet out of the box, Draco fastened it on Scarlett's wrist.

"It's enchanted so it won't break and won't fall off," He explained to Hermione. "It's also enchanted to grow with her, so she'll never not be able to wear it."

"It's lovely, Draco," Hermione said softly as she looked at the delicate bracelet on her daughter's wrist.

"And every year, I'll get you a new charm for the bracelet," Draco continued, addressing Scarlett even though he knew she wouldn't really understand the significance of the bracelet until she was older.

"It's a lovely idea, Draco," Hermione said with a smile as she turned and gave her soon to be husband a quick kiss as Scarlett wriggled off his knee to go and play with her dragon again.

"This is a very important day," Draco replied seriously. "I wanted to commemorate it, both today and in the years to come. I may not be Scarlett's biological father, but I never want her to doubt that I love her and I think of her as my daughter. She's a Malfoy now, and tomorrow, you'll join the family."

"I'll think about it," Hermione teased.

"Only think about it?" Draco questioned, pretending to be outraged. "I'll just have to persuade you that becoming a Malfoy is the best thing for you."

"Do you really think you can be that persuasive?" Hermione chuckled.

"I know I can," Draco answered confidently as he pushed a strand of Hermione's hair behind her ear and brushed his lips against her ear. "And tonight, I'll prove it."

"In case you've forgotten, we're in different rooms tonight," Hermione pointed out. "And you can't sneak into my room as I'll have Scarlett with me."

"I thought she was in with your parents?" Draco frowned.

"That's tomorrow night," Hermione replied. "Tonight she's here with me. Sorry Draco, it looks like you're going without tonight."

"I'll just have to make it up to you tomorrow night then," Draco replied with a disappointed shrug.

"And what happened to your persuasion today?" Hermione laughed.

"There's still plenty of the day to go," Draco replied, giving Hermione wicked grin as he briefly captured her lips with his. "I'm sure I can grab you at one point for a brief bit of seduction and persuasion."

"I'm sure you can," Hermione agreed with a smile.

Turning back to Scarlett, the couple spent another ten minutes in the room before they took the three year old to explore the hotel. Dinner wasn't for another few hours, so until then they intended to spend some time as a family.


	10. Chapter 10

The day of the wedding was a gorgeous summer day. With the ceremony not until the afternoon, Hermione had the whole morning to kill without seeing her husband to be. Narcissa and Jean had arranged everything, so that the bride and groom wouldn't run into each other before the actual ceremony. However, they were both able to spend some time around the hotel if they wished to leave their room. They just had to stay to the rooms Narcissa and Jean had allocated to them.

Luckily, passing the time was easy for Hermione as she had Scarlett to focus on. When she first got up she got her daughter dressed and they headed down to breakfast. All through breakfast Scarlett kept asking for Draco, and when she could wear her pretty new dress.

"You'll see Daddy soon, and you can put your dress on this afternoon," Hermione told her daughter.

"Can Red wear a dress as well?" Scarlett asked. Red was her favourite stuffed dragon, and he was currently sitting on the table beside the three year old as she wolfed down a bowl of rice crispies.

"I don't think dragons wear dresses," Hermione replied with a smile.

"They do," Scarlett insisted. "And Red wants a dress. A dress just like mine."

"I'll see what I can do," Hermione vowed. No doubt she'd have to find some sort of magical way in which Scarlett's dragon could wear a replica of her flower girl dress.

After breakfast, Hermione persuaded Scarlett to go back up to their room. While Hermione double checked details for the wedding, Scarlett settled herself on the bed with her stuffed dragon and one of her books. Hermione smiled as her daughter read out loud to her toy dragon, while she flitted about making sure everything was in place for the wedding.

Instead of going back down to the dining room for lunch, Hermione ordered a light lunch for her and Scarlett to be delivered to the room and the pair ate on the balcony. From the balcony, Hermione could see the rose gardens, which were being prepared for the wedding. After lunch, Hermione and Scarlett took a walk down to the gardens, to check everything was okay, before they returned to Hermione's room to start the task of getting ready for the wedding.

As arranged, Jean and Narcissa turned up at Hermione's room to help the bride and her little flower girl get ready for the afternoon ahead. Deciding it was easier to deal with Scarlett first, and just use magic to keep her clean and presentable, the three women focused their attention on the three year old to begin with.

"Don't forget Red," Scarlett said as Jean pulled her lavender dress out of the wardrobe.

"Red?" Narcissa frowned in confusion.

"Her dragon," Hermione explained. "Draco bought it for her the first time he met her, and it's her favourite. She wants the dragon to wear a dress like hers."

"I think I can manage that," Narcissa said, smiling at Scarlett. Kneeling down beside the young girl, she cast a few spells and soon her dragon was dressed in an exact replica of the dress she would soon be changing into. "There we go, one pretty dragon."

"Thanks, Nana Cissa," Scarlett replied with a grin as she picked her dragon up and gave it a hug.

"Now it's your turn, Scarlett Anne," Jean said, using both of her granddaughter's names so that she knew it was time to be serious. "Put the dragon down and let us get you dressed."

Scarlett obediently put the dragon down on the dressing table and let her mother and two grandmothers dress her. By the time she was finished she was wearing a pale lavender gown and matching lavender shoes. Her hair was brushed and left loose around her face, but Narcissa had magically weaved small roses into her hair. Hermione had also made sure she was wearing the bracelet Draco had given her the previous day.

"You look like a princess," Jean gushed.

"Very pretty," Narcissa agreed.

"You'll be the star of the show, Scarlett," Hermione said with a smile. Even though it was her wedding day, she really didn't care that her daughter was going to be the star of the day.

"Now be a good girl and sit down and watch us getting Mummy ready," Jean said to her granddaughter as Narcissa cast a few charms to ensure that Scarlett's dress didn't get creased and she remained in pristine condition.

With Scarlett happily settled on the bed with her dragon and book, Hermione put herself in her mother and future mother-in-law's hands. First of all the pair teased Hermione's hair into an elegant bun, leaving a few tendrils framing her face. Then they turned their attention to her make-up. When that was sorted, they then sent her into the bathroom to get into her underwear.

For the occasion, Hermione had bought a new set of lingerie in a cream colour. The set consisted of a strapless bodice, which pushed her breasts up and made them look very impressive, and a tiny cream pair of knickers. The lingerie set gave her an innocent, pure look, but at the same time she also looked sexy. Hermione was in no doubt that Draco would love her sexy-virginal look.

With her underwear on, Hermione returned to the bedroom where Narcissa and Jean helped her into her dress. Hermione's dress was a long, strapless, well fitted cream number. Over the dress Hermione wore a sheer silver shrug, and her veil was pinned to her head with an antique silver tiara that every Malfoy bride wore. Hermione completed the outfit by slipping into a pair of silver strappy heels. She then added a small pair of diamond earrings, a present from her parents, and a diamond heart necklace she'd received from Draco as an early wedding present.

"Pretty Mummy," Scarlett piped up as Hermione examined her reflection in the mirror.

"Thank you, baby," Hermione replied, smiling at her daughter.

"You are gorgeous," Narcissa confirmed, giving her soon to be daughter-in-law a hug. "Draco's lucky to have you."

"I think we're both lucky to have found each other," Hermione replied.

Narcissa smiled back at Hermione, before she headed off to make sure everything was running smoothly. While Narcissa was checking everything was running as planned, Jean remained with her daughter and granddaughter. As they waited, Jean told Hermione how proud she was of her, and how happy she was that she and Scarlett had found a good man.

"And the three if you are going to have the perfect life together," Jean concluded, wrapping her daughter in her arms.

"I hope so," Hermione replied.

Just as the two women parted, Narcissa returned and announced it was nearly time to go. Everything was in place, and Draco was making his way to the gardens. Hermione's father would be walking her down the aisle, but they'd agreed he would meet them downstairs. Peering out of the window, Narcissa waited until she knew everything was in place before declaring it was time to go.

"Come on Scarlett, it's show time," Hermione said, holding her hand out for her daughter.

Making sure she had hold of her dragon, Scarlett took hold of Hermione's hand and the pair walked out of the hotel room with Narcissa and Jean. The foursome made their way down to the ground floor, where they found Richard waiting for them in the back ballroom, which was where the doors leading to the garden were located.

"Wow, you two look amazing," Richard gasped, taking in his daughter and granddaughter.

"Thank you," Hermione replied with a smile.

"Now Scarlett, can you remember what we practised?" Narcissa asked as she grabbed a small basket, filled with rose petals that had been waiting for them.

"Yes," Scarlett replied with a serious nod. "Throw the flowers and smile."

"That's right," Jean replied with a smile. "And when you reach the bottom of the aisle, come and sit with me."

"What about Red?" Scarlett pouted.

"Here, we'll sit her in the basket," Narcissa suggested, placing the dragon in the basket and giving the basket to Scarlett. "Just don't throw him onto the ground."

"I won't," Scarlett vowed.

Narcissa and Jean both gave Scarlett a kiss and wished Hermione luck, before hurrying into the garden to take their seats. Moments later the music started, signalling it was time to begin. Leaning down, Hermione gave her daughter a kiss and a hug before directing her into the garden to do her duties as a flower girl.

From her position beside the doors, Hermione watched as Scarlett strolled out into the garden and onto the red carpet that was serving as the aisle. Even though she could only see the back of her daughter, Hermione could tell her little girl was beaming as she happily skipped down the aisle, excitedly throwing rose petals as she went. In fact Scarlett was so excited most of the petals landed on the guests, rather than the floor, but Hermione could see that no-one minded. They were all charmed by the gorgeous little flower girl and her obvious happiness.

When Scarlett reached the end of the aisle, she didn't immediately go and sit with Jean as she'd been instructed. Instead she ran over to Draco and wrapped her little arms around his legs. Hermione watched with a lump in her throat as Draco leant down, gave Scarlett a massive hug and a kiss and sent her to sit with her grandmother as the guests cooed over how sweet the pair looked.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Richard asked, holding out his arm to his daughter.

"I am," Hermione replied. Taking a deep breath, she took hold of her father's arm as he led her towards her future.

The ceremony itself was short and sweet, with Hermione and Draco exchanging their own personal vows. They then covered some of the traditional vows, before exchanging rings and being pronounced husband and wife. Needless to say when he was told he could kiss the bride, Draco swept Hermione into his arms and made it a pretty memorable kiss, with a lot of the guests chuckling at their behaviour. It was clear to everyone attending the wedding that they had just witnessed the wedding of two people who were very much in love with each other.

After the ceremony, Draco and Hermione signed the official paperwork, before returning to the garden for the photographs. The couple had hired a top class photographer for the day, and while he'd already taken plenty of candid shots, he took a pile of posed pictures as well. A lot of the guests were included in the pictures, and the photographer made sure to get plenty of the bride and groom with their gorgeous little daughter. Finally, the pictures came to an end and it was time to attend the reception, where the photographer was planning on taking yet more candid pictures.

The reception was being held in a marquee in another part of the garden, and Narcissa and Jean made sure everyone was ready and seated before the bride and groom made their appearance. When Hermione and Draco entered the tent, Scarlett had been sitting on Richard's lap, but she wriggled out of her grandfather's grasp and ran over to her parents when she spotted them.

"There's my beautiful princess," Draco said as he swept Scarlett up in his arms. "Are you having a good day?"

"Yes, my dress is pretty," Scarlett replied with a giggle.

"Yes, it is," Draco agreed as he and Hermione made their way to the top table.

Instead of settling Scarlett in her own seat, Draco let her stay on his lap as the speeches began. First, Lucius said a few words, welcoming Hermione and Scarlett to the family and wishing the couple the very best of luck. Next Richard spoke, bringing a lot of people to tears as he described how proud he was of his daughter with all she'd been through over the last few years. Finally, Blaise got to his feet and keeping his promise to Draco, he kept his speech clean. Blaise kept things nice and simple, merely talking about what a good couple Draco and Hermione were and how lucky they'd been to find happiness with one another.

"And now a toast," Blaise finished. "To the new Mr and Mrs Malfoy."

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy," Everyone chorused as they raised their glasses to the newly married couple.

"Well, Mrs Malfoy, any regrets?" Draco asked, turning to Hermione as everyone prepared to tuck into their meal.

"None," Hermione answered with a smile. "You?"

"Not a one," Draco replied. "You and Scarlett are everything I've ever wanted. This is the best day of my life."

Hermione smiled in return, and leaning over her daughter's head, she gave Draco a kiss. Draco kissed his new wife back with feeling, before they reluctantly broke away from one another. Turning their attention to the meal, Draco persuaded Scarlett to sit at her own seat so she could eat.

After the meal, Draco and Hermione cut the cake and then they had their first dance. As the crowds started to congregate on the dance floor following the first dance, Draco and Hermione ended up separated for a while as they both danced with other people. Hermione danced with both her father and Lucius, while Draco danced with Jean and his mother. As for Scarlett she was being whirled around the floor by various people and she was loving the attention.

As Hermione had predicted, it may have been her and Draco's wedding day, but Scarlett was the star of the day. Not that either Draco or Hermione minded their daughter stealing the limelight. They were just pleased that Scarlett was happy and having a good time. After all, it may have been their wedding, but it was also the start of their life as a family. From this day forward they would be a proper family - Draco, Hermione and Scarlett Malfoy.

* * *

 **A/N - Well that concludes part one. I just hope people like part two, as judging from reviews I don't think it's quite what people are expecting.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N – We're onto part two of Scarlett Dragon, and as I mentioned last chapter, I don't think it's quite what people were expecting. The main theories seemed to either be a custody battle or a meeting at Hogwarts. However, part two is set sixteen years after the end of part one, making Scarlett an adult. This part features a lot of Scarlett, and slightly less of Draco and Hermione. Anyway, I hope people enjoy part two as much as they enjoyed part one.**

* * *

 **Part** **Two.**

 **Sixteen Years Later.**

"Here we are," Harry Potter announced grandly as he led his family into the large country villa in France that would be their home for the next six weeks.

Unbeknown to the Potters three children there was an ulterior motive to the family spending their entire summer holidays in France. Harry had just finished his final season as a professional quidditch player, and he'd had a great offer from one of the top French clubs to take up a coaching position. During the holiday, Harry was going to meet with the club who'd made the offer and he and his wife, Ginny, would decide if it was the best thing for the family if Harry took the job as they spent the summer seeing what France had to offer.

As for the couple's children, they just thought it was a normal family holiday. Harry and Ginny had explained the extra-long stay by claiming they were celebrating their eldest son, James, finishing Hogwarts. Eighteen year old James had just graduated from school, and like his parents he had an ulterior motive for agreeing to spend the entire holidays in France with his family. While Harry was secretly considering taking a job in France, James was also secretly hoping to get a similar opportunity.

James was a talented quidditch player, and he hoped to follow in his father's footsteps and forge himself a professional career playing the sport he loved. However, he knew if he joined an English team he would forever be compared with his father. Over the years Harry had become the undisputed star of English quidditch, and James knew he could never live up to his father's reputation. Instead he was hoping for a fresh start in France, where even though people would have heard of Harry, he wasn't a big star and James would be able to make his own way in the quidditch world.

"This place is awesome, Dad," Twelve year old Albus declared as the family looked around the villa.

Albus was named after the former headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore had defeated Voldemort years earlier, releasing Harry of the burden of having to deal with the dark wizard. Harry had been close to the headmaster from the second he started Hogwarts, but they became even closer after Dumbledore defeated Voldemort. In fact the pair were still close and Dumbledore was young Albus's godfather.

"Look at the pool," Sixteen year old Lily gushed. Lily was the Potters only daughter, and as such she was slightly spoiled by both her mother and father. "James, take a look."

"Cool," James replied absent-mindedly. As nice as the villa was, he wasn't planning on spending much time in it, he had plans to get out and explore France over the coming six weeks.

"You could show some enthusiasm, James," Ginny huffed in annoyance. Obviously she loved her eldest son, but there was no doubt he was the most difficult of their children.

James had always been a bit of a handful, but once he started Hogwarts, Ginny felt as though he started pulling away from his family. When he came home for Christmas during his first year, he informed the family he wished to be addressed as Jamie in a bid to establish an identity of his own. James was named after his grandfather, and he felt he was always been compared to his namesake. However, Harry and Ginny hadn't bowed to their sons wishes and while they made it clear his friends could call him what they wanted, they'd named him James and would call him such. After a brief sulk, James had conceded to his parents' wishes and hadn't argued. Although both Ginny and Harry were well aware that his friends called him Jamie.

"The place is great, Mum," James said, giving his mother a smile. "I'm sure we're going to have a great summer."

"Yes, we are," Harry declared with a grin. "How about we all unpack, and then we can go exploring. I'm sure we can find somewhere nice to eat."

"Sounds great," Lily replied.

"Yeah, I'm starved," Albus added.

"You're always hungry," Ginny chuckled. "Just like your Uncle Ron."

Making their way up the stairs, Harry and Ginny assigned the rooms to their three children. Leaving the three children to settle in, the couple made their way to the master bedroom, which took up the entire top floor. As they unpacked they talked about how the summer was going to go. Harry had several meetings set up with the team that wanted him as coach, and he had tickets for a couple of matches. While he was busy with work, Ginny would be in charge of keeping the kids happy. Although, they'd both agreed that since James was now an adult, he could do his own thing. To be honest, they were just pleased he'd agreed to accompany them on the trip at all.

"Do you really think he's going to be okay?" Ginny asked her husband as they talked about James.

"He's fine, Gin," Harry reassured his wife. "He's just a teenager, and a grown up one at that. He's just asserting his independence."

"I don't suppose we helped by suggesting you could sort him a quidditch contract," Ginny mused.

A few days ago the couple had gotten into a nasty argument with their son when Harry informed James that he didn't have to bother with try-outs. Harry had spoken with the management team at the Falcons, where he'd played his entire career, and they'd agreed to sign James without a trial. Instead of being happy, James had been anything but and he'd informed his parents that it was his life and it was up to him to sort his career. He wanted to be signed on merit, not because he was Harry's son.

"I think the less said about that the better," Harry grouched. He was still slightly annoyed by the way James had thrown his offer back in his face. "Let's just enjoy the summer and let James sort himself out. He knows that we're going to be here for him if he needs us. But right now, he needs to stand on his own two feet."

"I guess so," Ginny replied with a sigh. "It's just hard to think our baby is grown up."

"They're all growing up," Harry chuckled.

Ginny nodded wistfully as she finished their unpacking. However, by the time they were ready to leave the villa and go exploring, Ginny had decided to just relax and enjoy the summer. True, her children were growing up and getting ready to leave the nest, but right now she still had her family all together, and she was determined it was going to be a summer to remember.

* * *

Nineteen year old, Scarlett Malfoy, dropped her bag onto the hallway floor as she let out a relieved sigh to be home. Scarlett was training to be a healer, and the course was a lot of work. However, she was loving the course and she couldn't wait until she was fully qualified. It was well worth a few years of hard work, when at the end of the course she would have a fulfilling career ahead of her.

"Scar, is that you?" Scarlett's mother, Hermione, called from the library.

"Yeah, it's me," Scarlett replied as she headed into the library, where her mother was sorting a box of books.

"Good day?" Hermione asked, smiling at her daughter over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Scarlett answered as she poked around in the box her mother was unpacking. "Anything good?" She asked.

"There's a few nice old books here," Hermione replied. "Your grandparents sent them over. Your grandmother is redecorating the manor and she wanted rid of some of the books they didn't read."

"Nana Cissa's decorating again?" Scarlett laughed. It seemed like her grandmother was always decorating and revamping various Malfoy houses around the globe.

"You know what an artistic streak she's got," Hermione replied with a fond smile. "Will you be in for dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm too tired to even think of going out," Scarlett replied. Even though she could have gotten a place of her own after leaving Beauxbatons the previous year, she was more than happy to live at home with her parents and siblings. "Is everyone else in for dinner?"

"Of course," Hermione answered with a nod. "Your father's not back from work yet, but your brother and sister are upstairs."

Scarlett had two younger siblings. Scorpius was fourteen, and their younger sister, Cassiopeia, was just eleven. Scarlett loved both of her siblings, and the three of them were very close. Part of Scarlett's reasoning for staying at home when she finished school was the good relationship she had with her family. Not only was she close with her brother and sister, but she was close with her parents as well.

"I'm going to say hello to Scorp and Cassie and get changed," Scarlett told her mother as she gave her a peck on the cheek and left the library.

Scarlett grabbed her bag from the hallway, before she headed off upstairs to poke her head in on her siblings. She found Scorpius sprawled on his bed, music blaring and a quidditch magazine in his hand. Her brother gave her a half-hearted wave, before returning his focus to his reading. Scarlett then poked her head into her little sister's room, where she found Cassiopeia snuggled in a rocking chair in the corner of the room with her favourite book. Like the rest of the family, Cassiopeia was a big reader, and she was never happier than when she was reading.

Returning to her own room, Scarlett hung her bag on the back of her door as she firmly shut it. Scarlett's room was the second biggest bedroom in the house, and it was her sanctuary. She had a big, comfy four poster bed, but the majority of Scarlett's time was spent at her desk, which was positioned beside the window, giving her a perfect view of the stunning backyard and the surrounding countryside as she worked. A recent addition to her room was an en-suite bathroom, which her father had added for her a couple of years ago by transforming the guest room next to hers into a bathroom.

Stripping off her clothes and placing her jewellery onto her dressing table, Scarlett grabbed a quick shower before she changed into fresh clothes. She then put her jewellery back in her jewellery box, aside from her dragon charm bracelet which she put back on. It was the only piece of jewellery that Scarlett was never without. No matter what outfit she wore, she always had her bracelet on her wrist.

The bracelet was a present from her father, and a new charm was added every year. It commemorated the day that Draco had officially adopted her and she became a Malfoy. Not that Scarlett could really remember a time in her life when Draco hadn't been around. He may not have been her biological father, but he was her father in every way that mattered. Draco had raised her from infancy, and Scarlett knew how much he loved her.

She knew her biological father was a friend of her mother's, and he'd callously wanted Hermione to get rid of her. When Hermione had refused, he'd walked away from her and Hermione had moved to France to start a new life. That was about all Scarlett knew of her biological father, and it was all she wanted to know. She knew that he didn't want her, whereas Draco did. Draco loved her like his own flesh and blood, whereas her own biological father had walked away from her without a second thought. In Scarlett's opinion she was better off without him in her life, and she'd ended up with the best father she could ever have asked for.

Just thinking about Draco made her smile and Scarlett walked over to the corner shelves which dominated the far corner of her room. Every shelf held dragon mementoes that she'd collected over the years. Most of them came from her father, but Scarlett had added her own dragon pieces over the years. Pride of place went to an old stuffed red dragon with her name on the paw. Scarlett knew it had been her favourite toy growing up, and she also knew it was the very first thing her father had given her. And beside her old stuffed toy sat a water globe her father had given her when she turned seventeen. When you shook the globe, glitter swirled around it and a green and silver dragon carrying a little girl that looked exactly like Scarlett had done when she was little flew around in the ball.

Scarlett gave the old stuffed dragon a stroke and shook the globe, before replacing them both on the shelf and turning away from her collection. Tying her long, dark brown hair up in a ponytail she left her room to go and see if Hermione needed a hand with dinner. Her mother had many skills and was a brilliant witch, but she wasn't a great cook. Luckily, Scarlett had learnt to cook from her grandmother and thanks to Jean's teachings, she knew her way around the kitchen.

"Need any help?" Scarlett asked as she entered the kitchen to find her mother staring at some chicken breasts with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Yes, please," Hermione replied with a relieved smile.

Over the years she'd tried to learn how to cook without magic, but to be honest it just wasn't something she was good at. When she was younger, Hermione would have hated to admit that she wasn't good at something and she would have persevered until she had mastered the art of cooking. However, she was a lot more laid back these days and Draco had helped her realise that she didn't have to be the best in everything. Her husband had taught her that it was okay to admit that she wasn't good at something.

"Do you know what you want to make?" Scarlett asked her mother.

"Your father and I were at Blaise's last week and his new girlfriend made this lovely chicken in some sort of white wine sauce, I thought I'd give it a go," Hermione answered. "Apparently it's easy, but I can't remember what she said to do first."

"Luckily for you, I know how to make a good sauce," Scarlett chuckled as she moved her mother out of the way. "Why don't I see to dinner and you can go and do some more work. I'm sure you've brought some work home with you from the museum."

"I do have a few bits I need to be getting on with," Hermione confirmed. She was now head curator at the museum, and she'd recently supervised a large expansion which made them the biggest wizarding museum in the world.

"Then go and get on with it," Scarlett urged. "I'll be fine here."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "I can help."

"I'll be better off on my own," Scarlett answered, shooing her mother from the kitchen.

With Hermione out of hair, Scarlett flicked the radio on and set about preparing dinner for the family. By the time everything was ready and in the oven, her father had arrived home and her siblings had come downstairs. Setting the timer for the chicken, Scarlett joined her family in the front room.

Half an hour later the Malfoys sat down for dinner, and as they ate they discussed the upcoming summer holidays. It had already been decided that the family wouldn't be going away over the summer as they'd been to Italy over Easter and they were planning on spending Christmas in Switzerland. However, it was still going to be a busy summer for the family. Even though they weren't going away, Hermione still wanted them to spend some quality time together and she was already planning on family barbecues and weekends at the beach house in southern France. Of course, Scarlett still had her healer course to attend, but she knew when she was free and when she wasn't with her friends, she would be with her family. She couldn't think of any better way to spend her time than with the people she loved the most.


	12. Chapter 12

It didn't take James long to make some friends in France. After spending the first few days of the holiday with his family, he ventured out alone and found a bar aimed at the younger generation. The bar had live music, and even though they served alcohol, soft drinks were also readily available. The place had a friendly atmosphere and there was no judgement cast on anyone who chose to stay away from the alcohol. The very first time James visited the bar, he met a small group of teenage boys, who'd let him play pool with them. Three of the boys had just finished school, like he had, while the other two had been finished a year. However, the five boys were still friendly and they embraced James into the group. Luckily for James they also spoke pretty good English as his French was basic at best.

After his first meeting, James met up with the boys the following day and within a week he was seeing his new friends daily. Over the course of the meetings, the boys had mentioned some girls they were friends with, but it wasn't until the Friday evening that James got his chance to meet them. Like most other nights there was a live band playing at the bar, and the group had arranged to meet up for a night out, and the boys were going to introduce James to the girls.

On the evening in question, James was at the bar nice and early, and he had a drink with a couple of the boys before the others appeared. All the boys had arrived before the girls showed up en-mass.

"Here they come," Jack, the boy James had struck up the best friendship with, said, pointing out a group of girls who had just entered the bar.

The group consisted of four girls, two blondes, a brunette and a redhead. All four of them were attractive, but James's attention was captured by the brunette. The witch in question had long dark brown hair, which hung halfway down her back in soft curls, and was wearing a fitted black and purple dress. She also had deep brown eyes, and a friendly smile which she aimed in James's direction as the girls approached the boys.

"Everyone this is Jamie," Jack said, making the introductions. "Jamie these are the girls, Patrice, Kellie, Layla and Scarlett."

"Hi," The brunette said, smiling at James.

"Hello," James replied, totally captivated by the witch who'd been introduced to him as Scarlett.

"Drinks?" Noel, one of the other guys asked.

"Drinks would be great," Kellie replied as the girls settled down at the table. "Cocktails all round, please."

James was thrilled when Scarlett took the seat next to him. As some of the other girls started chatting to the boys in a mixture of English and the occasional bit of French, Scarlett turned to James.

"Jack says you're from England," She began.

"Yeah, the family are here for a prolonged holiday," James replied.

"How are you enjoying France?" Scarlett asked.

"It's great," James replied. "Although we have only been here for a week."

"How long are you here for?" Scarlett asked as the drinks arrived and she picked her cocktail up and took a sip.

"Six weeks in total," James replied.

"Long holiday," Scarlett remarked. "I'm not sure I would like to go away for six weeks. Are you not missing your friends?"

"Not really," James confessed. "To be honest, I'm using the holiday as an opportunity."

"An opportunity for what?" Scarlett questioned.

"To try and get myself spotted by a quidditch team," James answered.

"What's wrong with the teams back in England?" Scarlett asked with a frown. "I thought they had a good league."

"You know about quidditch?" James questioned. Even though quidditch was the big wizarding sport he still found more wizards than witches were interested in the sport.

"Bits and pieces," Scarlett responded with a shrug. "My Dad's a big quidditch fan, so is my little brother. And my uncle is a former player. So I know the British league is a good one."

"It is, but my Dad's just retired and I don't want to be compared to him," James confessed. "I know if I sign for a British team, I'll constantly be compared with my Dad. I just want to be judged on my own merits."

"I can understand that," Scarlett replied with a sympathetic nod. "Luckily, I've never had that to worry about."

"What, no parents to live up to?" James questioned warily, hoping he hadn't brought up a sore subject for the pretty young witch.

"Not to be compared to," Scarlett replied. "I've gone a very different path to my parents. My Mum's the curator of a massive museum, and my Dad runs his own business."

"And you?"

"I'm training to be a healer," Scarlett replied.

"Impressive," James said. He was guessing the training to become a healer in France was pretty much the same as in England, and he knew it wasn't an easy route to go down.

"I'm not sure about that, it's just something I think I can be good at," Scarlett replied.

"I'm sure you'll be great," James said, giving Scarlett a wide smile.

"I hope so," Scarlett said. "And I'm sure you'll be a good quidditch player."

"You haven't even seen me fly," James argued with a laugh. "I could be terrible."

"You could be, but my instincts say you're good," Scarlett replied, giving James a flirtatious half smile.

James smiled back at Scarlett, but they didn't have a chance of continuing their conversation as one of the others suggested they got some fresh drinks and moved closer to the stage as the band was going to be performing soon and they were supposed to be good. Before he knew it, James found himself swept up with the group as they moved tables. However, when they settled back down Scarlett was seated at the opposite side of the table.

For the next hour, James kept himself occupied by chatting with the boys he already knew and a couple of the other girls. However, he soon got his opportunity to reconnect with Scarlett as several of the group decided to get up and dance.

"Are you up for dancing, Jamie?" Scarlett asked, holding her hand out for the wizard to take.

"I can try," James replied as he got to his feet. "Although, I have to warn you, I've got two left feet like my Dad. Dancing isn't our family's strong suit."

"It's not like I'm expecting you to waltz," Scarlett chuckled as she dragged James onto the dance floor. "All we have to do is move to the music."

James smiled at the suggestive tone in Scarlett's voice. He'd had his fair share of girlfriends, so he wasn't exactly a novice when it came to romance. However, he'd never quite felt the connection to anyone else that he felt with Scarlett. Even after knowing her for less than two hours, he felt he could tell her anything. In fact during their very first conversation, he'd admitted his fear of being compared to his father, and that was something only his good friends knew. They were the only people who knew just how much James struggled with being a Potter and all the expectation that came with the name.

Luckily, James's lack of dancing skills didn't really matter as Scarlett was right and the dancing basically consisted of moving in time to the music. James easily managed to dance along with Scarlett without embarrassing himself. In fact for the first time in his life he even found himself enjoying being on the dance floor.

"You know you're not really that bad," Scarlett yelled over the music as she swayed her own hips seductively. "You've got some moves, Jamie."

"Maybe it's the person I'm dancing with bringing out the best in me," James replied.

Scarlett chuckled as she moved even closer to James. "You know my Dad reckons you can tell a lot about a person by their dance ability. Apparently if someone's a good dancer, they're good in bed."

"Your father told you that?" James frowned, wondering just what Scarlett's father was like.

"He wasn't talking specifially to me," Scarlett clarified, suddenly realising how weird it might sound. "It was a conversation I heard him having with my uncle last year. Uncle Blaise was complaining about his latest girlfriend being a bad dancer, and Dad told him it meant she would be bad in bed. According to Dad, if you're a good dancer you have ability in the bedroom department. He then went on to describe what a good dancer my Mum is, so I left at that point."

"He sounds like two of my uncles," James chuckled. "I have two really fun uncles, and I could imagine them comparing dancing and sex."

"How many uncles do you have?" Scarlett asked as they headed back over to the table, where it was slightly quieter.

"Six. All brothers of my Mum."

"Six brothers," Scarlett repeated. "Wow that is one big family you come from. What about your Dad, does he have any siblings?"

"Nope, Dad's an only child and his parents died when he was little," James replied. "How about you? Any other uncles aside from Uncle Blaise?"

"Technically Blaise isn't even my uncle, he's just my Dad's best friend," Scarlett admitted. "I call him uncle because I've known him forever. But both my parents are only children."

"You said you had a younger brother though, didn't you?" James pressed, eager to find out more about Scarlett.

"I did," Scarlett replied, impressed that James had remembered such a throwaway comment she'd made hours ago. "He's fourteen. I also have a little sister."

"Snap," James laughed. "I've got a younger brother and sister."

"I wonder what else we have in common," Scarlett mused.

"We can always find out," James replied.

"Yes we can," Scarlett agreed as the pair settled down to try and find out if they had anything else in common.

Half an hour later the pair found they had far more in common than just the fact they were the eldest of three children in their families. Both of their favourite subjects in school had been Potions, they both loved Italian food, they liked the same sort of wizarding mystery books and they both had a passion for magical creatures, in particular dragons.

"Why dragons?" Scarlett asked. She was amazed by how much she had in common with the handsome English wizard, and she was definitely finding herself increasingly attracted to him as the evening wore on.

"One of my uncles works on a dragon reservation, and we went to visit him when I was five," James explained. "Since then, I've been fascinated by dragons. How about you? Most girls I know prefer things like unicorns to dragons."

"That would be my Dad," Scarlett replied with a fond smile. "His name literally means dragon, so he created my fascination with them."

"Hence the bracelet," James said, fingering the silver charm bracelet that hung around Scarlett's arm. The bracelet was full of charms, each of them depicting dragons.

"It was a present from him and I get a new charm every year," Scarlett replied.

"So you're a daddy's girl?" James teased. It was obvious from the way she spoke that Scarlett thought the world of her father.

"Guilty," Scarlett admitted with a small smile.

"Does he go all protective on potential dates?" James asked.

"Oh yes, he spends hours grilling them," Scarlett replied with mock seriousness. "And it's even worse if my grandfathers are present as well. They're quite a formidable trio, or quartet if you include Uncle Blaise."

"Good to know," James answered warily.

Even though Scarlett was teasing him, he suspected there was some truth in her words. After all, he knew most fathers were protective when it came to their teenage daughters. Harry was certainly protective of Lily, as were his uncles with daughters.

"Enough about my family," Scarlett said, hoping she hadn't scared Jamie off before she really got a chance to get to know him and spend some time with him. "Are you coming to the beach tomorrow?"

"The beach?" James frowned.

"Has Jack not mentioned it?" Scarlett asked. "We're all meeting up and heading down to the beach. My parents own a beach house and they've given us permission to use it for the day."

"Jack never said anything," James replied.

"Well, I'm inviting you," Scarlett said with a smile. "We're meeting at the café down the street at nine. If you want to come, be there."

"Thanks I will," James replied. He wasn't sure if Ginny had plans for the next day, but even if she did, he was going to get out of them. There was no way he was going to miss out on the opportunity to spend the day with Scarlett, especially since she'd made sure to check he was going to the beach with them.

"Hey Jack, why hadn't you mentioned the beach to Jamie?" Scarlett asked as Jack re-joined the table.

"Had I not?" Jack asked as he scratched his ear. "Sorry mate, I thought I'd already mentioned it. You are coming, aren't you?"

"I am now," James replied with a grin.

"Excellent," Jack beamed. "We're going to have a lot of fun."

"I sure hope so," James whispered to himself, as he watched Scarlett turn to one of her friends and whisper something in her ear. Whatever she said, it caused the other girl to smirk and nod her head knowingly.

James was already looking forward to spending the next day with Scarlett, and suddenly spending time with the pretty brunette witch seemed more important than trying to find a way to break into quidditch in France. He had all his life to sort himself a quidditch career, whereas he only had the summer to get to know Scarlett and possibly have himself a summer romance with the most beautiful, interesting witch he'd ever met.


	13. Chapter 13

As she got ready to go out with her friends, Scarlett took extra care with her appearance. She always liked to look good, but she was especially wanting to look good since she knew she would be seeing Jamie that evening. It had been two weeks since the cute, raven haired wizard had walked into her life and Scarlett was loving the time they spent together. Thanks to her healer training, it wasn't as much time as she would have liked, but she'd seen him on a weekend and even a few evenings during the week.

Once she was ready, Scarlett grabbed her bag and double checking she had everything she left her bedroom and headed downstairs. When she poked her head into the front room, she found no sign of her family. Frowning in confusion, she turned around and started searching for her parents and siblings. While she found no sign of her mother and siblings, she found her father sitting at the desk in his study.

"Are you off out, sweetheart?" Draco asked, looking up from his work.

"I am," Scarlett replied. "Where's Mum, Scorp and Cassie?"

"They've gone to pick up dinner," Draco replied. "Cassie fancied chicken parmesan, and your Mum didn't want to cook."

"More like she couldn't cook it," Scarlett snickered.

"Probably," Draco agreed with a cheeky grin. "So where are you off to tonight?"

"We're going to go and see an open air play," Scarlett replied. "Apparently it's very good, and very funny."

"You're awfully dressed up for a play," Draco remarked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Are you trying to impress someone, Scar?"

"I think I've already managed that," Scarlett confessed.

"Do tell." Leaning back in his chair, Draco gave his eldest daughter a scrutinising look. "Who is it? Someone I know?"

"No, you don't know him," Scarlett answered as she perched on her father's desk. "His name is Jamie and we met a couple of weeks ago. He's cute and funny, and we have so much in common."

"Age?" Draco asked.

"He's eighteen."

"Aah, going for a younger model are you?" Draco chuckled.

"He's nine months younger than me," Scarlett replied. "Which coincidently, is exactly the age gap between you and Mum. It's hardly a big scandal that he's a bit younger."

"Touché," Draco replied, inclining his head in his daughter's direction. "So what does this boy do? And how did you just meet him a few weeks ago? Did he not go to Beauxbatons?"

"He's here on holiday with his family," Scarlett answered. "And he wants to be a quidditch player."

"Is he any good?" Draco asked.

"I've never seen him flying in a match, but the other weekend there was some flying at the beach and he flew rings around the others," Scarlett replied.

"Why don't you bring him over on Sunday for the barbeque," Draco suggested. "Blaise will be here, and he could help him if he's serious about playing quidditch professionally."

"And of course you can give him the third degree," Scarlett concluded, knowing exactly what her father was thinking.

"Of course," Draco agreed with a smirk. "I only want the very best for my little girl."

"I'm not so little," Scarlett chuckled as she gave her father a peck on the cheek and got to her feet. "But thank you for looking out for me. I'll ask Jamie about Sunday."

"Before you go there's something else I need to ask you," Draco called reluctantly as his daughter paused in the doorway of his office.

"Ask away," Scarlett said, smiling at her father.

"Do I need to give you the talk on safe sex?" Draco asked quickly, a grimace marring his handsome features as he thought about his little girl no longer being pure.

"No," Scarlett replied with a chuckle. "Mum gave me that talk over a year ago, plus I've only just met Jamie. I have no intention of jumping into bed with him."

In actual fact, Scarlett had no intention of jumping into bed with anyone. After her mother's experiences, it had made Scarlett wary of making a bad decision. After all, Hermione had slept with someone she trusted and considered a friend, and she'd been abandoned and left all alone with a child to raise. Luckily for Hermione, and Scarlett, Draco had come along, swept them off their feet and given them the home they deserved. Scarlett knew her mother didn't regret having her, but she still didn't want to end up in a similar situation herself. Instead, she was saving herself until she was head over heels in love and ready to have sex. Maybe Jamie would be the one, and maybe he wouldn't, but either way she wouldn't be running off and sleeping with him anytime soon.

After reassuring Draco he had nothing to be worried about, Scarlett said her goodbyes and headed off to meet her friends. They met in their usual bar, and had a few drinks before they walked the short distance to the open air theatre. As they took their seats, Scarlett was pleased that Jamie made sure he was sitting next to her.

"Will you be able to understand the play?" She whispered to Jamie, not wanting to embarrass him. She knew his French wasn't the best, and naturally the play was going to be performed in French.

"I'm sure I can cope," He replied, smiling widely at the brunette witch he was smitten with. "Besides, I've got you to act as a translator."

"I'll see what I can do," Scarlett replied, slipping her hand in his.

As it turned out the play was more visual than anything, and Jamie understood the jokes easily. The couple of times he was confused, Scarlett easily translated for him. Once the play was finished, the pair joined their friends as they headed back to the bar for another drink.

"How's your quidditch going?" Scarlett asked as the pair sat down at the table, while most of the others went off to dance.

"It's not," James replied with a sigh. "I don't have a clue where to start. I've visited a couple of local clubs, but my French is too limited to actually get anywhere. Although, I'm not really sure they just let random people just walk in off the streets and try out for the team."

"I never thought of that," Scarlett replied. "What you need is someone with connections."

"You think I should ask my Dad for help?" James sighed, resigned to the idea of having to ask Harry to bail him out.

"I was thinking more of my Uncle Blaise," Scarlett said. "I was talking to Dad before I left tonight, and he suggested that I invite you to ours for the barbeque on Sunday. I have to warn you, all the family will be there. But Uncle Blaise will also be there, and Dad reckons he could help you."

"You've been talking to your Dad about me?" James queried, not sure what to think of the revelation.

"Don't worry, it was all good," Scarlett replied with a chuckle.

"I bet he wants to grill me though," James said. "I would want to grill a boy who was interested in my daughter."

Scarlett shot Jamie a coy smile. "Are you interested in me?"

"You know I am," James replied seriously.

Sensing the moment to act was at hand, Scarlett leant across the table and pressed her lips against Jamie's. He quickly returned the kiss, causing Scarlett to hum in contentment as their lips finally parted.

"Nice," Scarlett murmured, licking her lips and tasting Jamie on them. "So what do you say, do you want to come to mine on Sunday?"

"I'd love to," James replied with a wide grin. "I can't wait to meet your family."

"And for Uncle Blaise to help you out," Scarlett added with a chuckle.

"I have to admit, that would be great," James confessed. "And just think, if I get a job with a French team it means I'll be staying in the country."

"That could be okay," Scarlett replied teasingly.

"Just okay?" James pouted.

Scarlett laughed lightly as she jumped to her feet and pulled Jamie to his. "Stop pouting and come and dance."

Not needing to be asked twice, James let Scarlett lead him onto the dance floor where they spent the next hour dancing provocatively with each other, neither of them realising their happiness was about to be blown apart by a shocking revelation.

* * *

"So tell me more about this boy," Hermione urged her husband.

The pair were in the kitchen, sorting the drinks for the barbeque while the rest of the family were gathered outside. All apart from Scarlett, who'd headed off to pick up some boy she was bringing back to introduce to the family. From the window, Hermione could see her father trying to show Blaise how to work the muggle barbeque he was setting up, and she debated if she should poke her head outside and urge Blaise to step away from the barbeque. The last thing she wanted was for a fire to break out, and if anyone was going to cause such havoc it would be Blaise.

"He's cute and funny and they've got lots in common," Draco replied, bringing Hermione's attention back to their conversation, although she was still keeping a wary eye on Blaise. "Oh, and he's nine months younger than her and wants to play quidditch professionally."

"And he's from where?" Hermione pressed.

"Not sure, she just said he was here on holiday with his family," Draco replied with a shrug.

"And what sort of family does he have? Is he an only child, does he have siblings? Does he have a large extended family?"

"Honey, I don't know," Draco said, dropping a kiss to the top of Hermione's head. "He'll be here shortly, why don't you save the questions for him. Only don't bombard him with them all at once. Give the poor boy a chance to relax and have fun."

"You better make sure you take your own advice," Hermione chuckled. "I know what you're like, the second he's here, you'll be all over him demanding to know what his intentions towards Scarlett are."

"It's only right," Draco said with a nod. "I'm her father, I need to know these things."

Hermione laughed lightly in respond, but her amusement died on her lips when she glanced out of the window and spotted Blaise brandishing firelighters in his hand. "Draco, do me and favour, go and control Blaise. I do not want him setting fire to my father."

"I'm on it," Draco vowed. Grabbing some of the drinks he headed off outside to move his friend away from potential danger.

Hermione watched until she was sure Blaise wasn't going to cause a disaster, before moving across the kitchen and checking on dessert. Over the last few weeks Hermione had secretly been practising her skills in the kitchen, and with the aid of a bit of magic she'd made a perfect looking cheesecake that morning. Now all she had to do was add the fresh fruit topping.

Five minutes later, the cheesecake was finished and Hermione slid it back into the fridge to surprise people with later. Just as she was shutting the fridge, she heard the front door shut and her daughter's voice. Despite the fact she wanted to get a peek at her daughter's new boyfriend, Hermione restrained herself and busied herself by sorting more drinks and glasses. However, she was very aware when her daughter entered the kitchen behind her.

"Mum," Scarlett called. "This is Jamie."

Hermione turned around with a smile on her face, but the second she laid eyes on the boy with her daughter all the colour drained from her face. The bottle of wine she was holding, slipped from her grasp as she stared at Harry. Well, technically she stared at a teenage replica of her daughter's biological father, but it was like looking at Harry. The boy standing next to Scarlett had Harry's messy jet black hair, his intense green eyes, and his slightly crooked smile. The only difference was that he didn't wear glasses like Harry.

"Mum?" Scarlett questioned cautiously.

"Get him out of here," Hermione gasped as she struggled to breathe with the shock.

"Mum, what is wrong with you?" Scarlett hissed. "Don't be so rude. Sorry Jamie, she's not usually this rude."

"Get out now," Hermione hissed, her brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Draco!" She screeched, causing both Scarlett and her companion to jump in shock.

"Mum," Scarlett tried again, but her mother waved her off as she continued to stare at Jamie in horror.

"What's going on here?" Draco asked as he strolled into the kitchen. However, as his eyes landed on the boy standing next to Scarlett, his mouth dropped open in shock and he sucked in a deep breath.

"Get him out, Draco," Hermione cried, as she lurched around and doubled up over the sink.

"Dad, what's going on?" Scarlett asked, horrified as she heard her mother throwing up violently.

"You need to get your friend out of here," Draco said firmly. "We'll explain everything, but not now. Just get rid of him and let me calm your mother down."

"I want answers now," Scarlett demanded.

"Not now, Scarlett Anne," Draco barked.

"I really should go," James said softly to Scarlett.

"I'm so sorry about this," Scarlett apologised. "I have no idea what's going on here."

"Let me know what's happening when you can," James said as the pair backed out of the kitchen. "You have the address of where I'm staying. You can come and see me anytime."

"I'll be in touch soon," Scarlett promised. "And thanks for being so understanding about my crazy family. Honestly, I have no idea what has come over Mum and Dad, they're normally so nice and friendly."

"It's okay," James replied with a smile, even though he was shaken at what had just occurred and like Scarlett he would have liked some answers.

Promising to be in touch, Scarlett said her goodbyes, before heading back into the kitchen to confront her parents. She wanted answers to explain their rudeness, and she was damn well going to get some. It was time they explained why they'd been so offhand with the boy she could easily see herself falling in love with.


	14. Chapter 14

Taking a few deep breaths to get her temper under control, Scarlett stepped back into the kitchen to confront her parents. The wine bottle Hermione had dropped had been cleared up and her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, looking extremely shaken up as Draco held her. Scarlett was rather taken aback by how pale her mother looked, and if she wasn't so annoyed with her parents, she would be seriously worried about her mother. It looked like Hermione was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"What just happened?" Scarlett demanded as her father looked up at her.

"Sit down, Scarlett, we need to talk," Draco said quietly.

"Damn right we do," Scarlett muttered as she took a seat opposite her parents. "I want some answers."

"And you'll get some," Draco reassured his daughter just as Hermione raised her head.

"Have you slept with him?" She demanded of her daughter in a haunted voice.

"Mum," Scarlett hissed in outrage at the personal question.

"Have you slept with him?" Hermione repeated in a harsh, broken voice.

"No," Scarlett spat. "I haven't slept with Jamie, or anyone else."

"Thank god," Hermione whispered, placing her head in her hands as she was overcome with relief. The last ten minutes or so had been the most traumatic of her life as she thought her daughter had been intimate with her half-brother.

"What is going on?" Scarlett pleaded. She was just getting more confused by the second with her mother's strange behaviour.

Before either Draco or Hermione got a chance to reply, the back door sprung open and Scorpius came bounding into the kitchen.

"The barbecue's ready."

Scorpius trailed off and the smile dropped from his face as he took in the scene in the kitchen. His parents and older sister were sitting somberly at the table, and there was a tense atmosphere in the air. However, when Scorpius caught sight of his mother with her head in her hands, he was straight over to her side.

"Mum, what's wrong?" He asked gently.

"Nothing, sweetheart," Hermione answered, sitting up properly and giving her son a watery smile.

"You've been crying," Scorpius stated, gently brushing at his mother's damp cheek. He was rather protective of his mother, and he hated to see her cry.

"It's nothing," Hermione repeated. "Your Dad and I just need to talk to your sister. Do me a favour, and tell people to start the barbecue. But Scorpius, tell them we don't want to be disturbed."

"Okay," Scorpius replied slowly. Something major was going on and he wanted to know what, but he also knew that his parents weren't going to tell him anything. He would have to wait to find out what sort of drama his big sister had caused.

Scorpius gave Hermione a hug before he headed back outside to make sure the trio weren't disturbed. Just in case, Draco shot a locking spell at the door to keep everyone out. Of course the entire family would find out what was going on in time, but right now, this was between Hermione and Scarlett.

"Now do I get explanations?" Scarlett demanded.

"The boy. Jamie," Hermione whispered. "His name is James Potter."

"How did you know that?" Scarlett asked with a gasp.

"Logic," Hermione replied hollowly. "He's named for his grandfather."

"He is," Scarlett confirmed. "But he prefers Jamie. His middle name is in honour of his father's godfather and he struggles with the expectations everyone puts on him being named after two important wizards."

"Sirius," Hermione said quietly. "His middle name must be Sirius. And yes, I can imagine how hard it must be for him to live up to both James and Sirius. His father idolised the pair of them."

"Jamie's father?" Scarlett questioned as understanding began to dawn on her. "You knew Jamie's father. He did say he looks like his father, just like Scorp looks like Dad."

"He does," Hermione confirmed. "He's the spitting image of Harry."

"So that's how you were able to recognise him," Scarlett stated. "But why be so rude? Did you hate Jamie's father when you knew him?"

"Quite the opposite," Hermione replied with a sad smile. "In fact, Harry was my closest friend."

"Closest friend," Scarlett repeated shakily as dread began to pool in her stomach. Even though she didn't know her biological father's name, she knew Hermione had considered him her closest and best friend. "No," She whispered as tears began to leak from her eyes. "It's not him, tell me it's not him."

"I'm sorry Scarlett," Hermione said, starting to cry along with her daughter. "Your father is Harry Potter, which makes Jamie your half-brother."

With a distressed cry, Scarlett lurched from her seat and like her mother earlier, she began to throw up in the sink. As she was bent over the sink, she felt someone come up behind her and even before she felt a comforting hand on her back, she knew it was her father.

"We're sorry, Scar," Draco said softly. "We honestly had no idea who Jamie was until you walked in with him."

"If we'd known you could have met his family, I would have told you your father's name," Hermione added.

"I know my father's name," Scarlett said as she straightened up and quickly used magic to clean her teeth and freshen herself up. "My father's name is Draco Malfoy. Harry Potter is nothing but a sperm donor. He's a spineless bastard who abandoned me before I was born."

"I still should have told you his name," Hermione sighed. "Then all this could have been avoided."

"This isn't your fault, Mum," Scarlett insisted as she sat down in the chair beside Hermione and took hold of her hand. "I've never wanted to know his name. If I'd asked, you would have told me."

"I would have," Hermione confirmed with a nod.

"Did you know about Jamie?" Scarlett asked quietly. She was still trying to digest everything, but she wanted as much information as she could to be able to deal with everything together rather than in dribs and drabs. "I mean, did you know he existed before you saw him today."

"I knew Harry had a child a few months younger than you," Hermione replied.

"He told you?" Scarlett questioned with a frown. She'd always believed the only contact Hermione had with Harry since leaving Britain was a letter after her birth, when he'd denied her.

"No, I did," Draco answered as he put his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "When I first re-met your mother, I was surprised when she told me about you and who your biological father was. I'd left the country a few months before I ran into your Mum, and before I'd left, I'd read that Harry and his wife were expecting a baby around Christmas time."

"So we knew about the baby, we just didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl," Hermione concluded.

"Let's get this straight, a few months after washing his hands of me, he got married and had a son with another witch," Scarlett spat. She'd always known her biological father had another family, but she hadn't realised it had all happened so quickly.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Hermione said, squeezing Scarlett's hand. "I would give anything for things to be different, but I couldn't force Harry to have a relationship with you. I thought it was best for us both to have a clean break."

"And it was," Scarlett replied, giving her mother a reassuring smile. "You did the right thing, Mum. He was the one who didn't want to know me, while you were the one who loved me and raised me. And don't forget, your decision to move brought Dad into our lives. I have a family, and I have the best father a girl could ask for. I do not need Harry Potter in my life. I'm better off without him."

"Maybe, but this changes things, Scarlett," Draco said softly. He was smiling inside at Scarlett saying he was the best father she could have asked for, but now really wasn't the time to be basking in her love. "We're going to have to tell poor Jamie something."

"Yes, I'm afraid we must have freaked him out," Hermione agreed. "We need to apologise to him. None of this is his fault. I just got such a shock, it was like Harry was standing in front of me."

"I don't want Jamie to know," Scarlett said in a panicked voice. "He can't find out I'm his sister, it would destroy him."

"Are you sure there's nothing you're not telling us, Scar?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"We haven't slept together," Scarlett reiterated. "But we have kissed," She added in a small voice.

"Oh, honey," Hermione cried, pulling her daughter into her arms and she broke down in tears. "I'm so sorry."

Draco watched Hermione console Scarlett with a lump in his throat. He hated that Scarlett had been so hurt by recent events, and he wished there was something he could do to change things. However, it had been pretty unforeseen that the Potters would decide to spend their summer in France and that their son would run into Scarlett. It was just a set of unfortunate coincidences, and now they all had to deal with the fall-out of the two half siblings meeting and falling for each other.

"What do I do, Mum?" Scarlett sniffed. "If I tell Jamie the truth, he'll be disgusted. I don't want to hurt him. None of this is his fault."

"Nor is it yours," Hermione said, hugging her daughter tighter. "Whatever you decide to do about Jamie, your father and I will be there for you. If you want to just give him an excuse and never see him again, then we'll support that."

"But wouldn't that be the cowardly way to go?" Scarlett asked as she sat up and brushed at her tears.

"No-one is going to judge you, Scar," Draco told his daughter. "And no-one is going to say you're a coward if you chose to make an excuse to spare Jamie's feelings. But I do think the choice has to be yours. This is your life, and we don't want to interfere."

"Thank you," Scarlett whispered as she gave her mother another hug and leant over to give Draco a hug and a kiss. "I love you both."

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked in a panicked voice as her daughter suddenly got to her feet.

"I'm going for a walk, I need to think," Scarlett replied. "It'll give you the chance to fill everyone else in on what's going on. I assume everyone but Scorp and Cassie knows who my sperm donor was."

"They do," Hermione replied. "But we don't have to tell them anything if you don't want to."

"No, tell them," Scarlett said firmly. "And tell Scorp and Cassie. I have no secrets from my family, and I know this won't change anything. I'd just rather not be here when you told them. I need some time alone to come to terms with things."

"Don't be too long," Hermione begged.

"I won't," Scarlett answered as she turned and slowly walked out of the room.

Hermione watched her daughter leave, before breaking down in fresh floods of tears in her husband's arms. She knew Scarlett was putting on a brave face, but she knew her little girl was suffering. And how could she not be, not after meeting and falling for her half-brother. The entire situation was terrible, and Hermione couldn't help but think that it was all her fault. She should have done something to ensure that Scarlett never came into contact with Harry or his family. But then again, how was she to know that they would turn up in France for an extended holiday.

"I think it's time we got this over with," Draco finally said as Hermione pulled away from him.

"I just need to clean myself up," Hermione replied as she got to her feet. "Bring everyone in and we can tell them what's going on."

While Hermione headed off upstairs to clean herself up and compose herself, Draco headed outside to grab the family. Of course, everyone was dying to know what was going on and the barbecue had ground to a halt as they waited to find out just what was happening. However, Draco wouldn't be drawn on what was going on as everyone moved into the house and settled into the front room.

"Shall I leave?" Blaise asked Draco, pulling him to one side as everyone else too their seats.

"No, you're part of the family," Draco replied. Since moving to France around the time Draco and Hermione had gotten married, Blaise had been very much part of the family and he was even Scorpius's godfather.

"Just what is going on, Draco?" Richard asked his son-in-law. "And where are Hermione and Scarlett."

"I'm here," Hermione answered, entering the room in time to hear her father's question. "And Scarlett's gone for a walk."

"Is she okay?" Narcissa asked in concern. Scorpius had mentioned that Hermione had been crying and that everyone looked upset, so they'd all been worried about what was going on.

"She'll be fine," Hermione replied as she took the seat next to Draco and grasped hold of his hand. "She's just coming to terms with a few things."

"She's not pregnant, is she?" Jean gasped.

"No, she's not pregnant," Draco answered. "As you know, Scarlett was going to bring her new friend to the barbecue, but when they arrived we got a bit of a shock. It turns out, her new friend is Potter's son."

All the adults shared shocked gasps, but Cassiopeia and Scorpius just looked at each other in confusion. They'd never heard the name Potter, so they didn't understand the significance of the name.

"Who is Potter and what does he have to do with us?" Scorpius questioned.

"Harry Potter is the name of Scarlett's biological father," Hermione answered her son. Their children knew about Scarlett not being Draco's biological child, but they also knew that it made no difference to the fact they were all part of the same family and they all loved each other.

"So her friend is really her half-brother," Scorpius concluded with a frown.

"Eew, he wasn't just her friend, he was her boyfriend," Cassiopeia cried. "Poor Scar."

"Exactly, poor Scarlett," Draco said. "Needless to say she's in a bit of a state."

"Had anything happened between her and the Potter boy?" Lucius asked. Even though everyone was thinking it, Lucius was likely the only person brazen enough to ask such a question.

"There's nothing to worry about on that score," Draco reassured the family. "They've only known each other a couple of weeks, it was more an attraction than anything else."

"Thank god for small mercies," Jean muttered. She hated to think about how traumatised her granddaughter would have been if she'd discovered she'd slept with her half-brother.

"What happens now?" Scorpius asked. "Will Potter try and take Scarlett from us?"

"No-one is taking Scarlett away from us," Hermione insisted with a slight snarl, which was echoed by her husband, father, father-in-law and Blaise. It would take someone very brave, or very stupid, to try and separate Scarlett from her family. "Harry walked away from Scarlett before she was born, and he's not walking back into her life now."

"But isn't that why they're here? To see Scarlett?" Scorpius questioned.

"That's a good point," Richard said, patting his grandson on the head. "Just what are Harry and his family doing here? Have they tracked us down to find Scarlett?"

"If they have they didn't tell their son anything about it," Draco answered. "From what Scarlett told me, Jamie thought the family were just on holiday."

"So it's a coincidence that he and Scarlett ran into each other?" Lucius questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Hermione answered with a nod. "I know it's a terrible coincidence, but I honestly think that's all it is. If Harry wanted to find Scarlett, he's had nineteen years to do it. Believe me, he's not interested in her. I'm betting he doesn't even know we're in this country. If he knew we lived in France he never would have brought his family over here, even if it is just for a holiday."

"So, Scarlett isn't leaving us?" Cassiopeia checked.

"No princess, your sister isn't going anywhere," Draco reassured his youngest daughter as he gave her a hug.

"And what about the Potters?" Narcissa asked. "Surely this means they're going to find out about Scarlett."

"That's up to Scarlett herself," Hermione answered. "She has to decide what to tell Jamie. If she tells him the truth, we'll be there for her. And if she makes an excuse so she doesn't have to see him again, we'll support that as well."

"Whatever happens we deal with it together, as a family," Draco added.

"Too right we will," Richard said with a nod. "And if Harry tries to wreck my family, I'll make the little git suffer."

"The more painfully the better," Lucius added, sharing a conspiring smirk with Richard.

Hermione and Draco shared a look at their fathers' actions, but they said nothing. At the end of the day they were just grateful that they had the backing of the entire family and that everyone would rally round and support Scarlett as she dealt with the blow she'd just received. They were hoping that Richard and Lucius never got the chance to act on their devious thoughts, and that Harry and his family would just fade away and the problem would just disappear – but when were things ever that simple?


	15. Chapter 15

The warm sun shone down on the Potters as they spent a Sunday afternoon relaxing in the garden of the villa they were staying in. Harry and Ginny were settled on sun loungers beside the pool, while Albus and Lily splashed about in the pool. James was the only member of the family not around, but he'd gone out with one of his new friends. In actual fact, he was out with a girl, and even though James kept insisting she was just a friend, Harry and Ginny suspected otherwise. They were both confident their oldest son had fallen head over heels for this Scarlett girl he was out with.

While Albus and Lily played in the pool, Harry and Ginny took the opportunity to talk about the reason they were in France. They'd been in France for several weeks now, and Harry had undertaken several meetings with the French quidditch club that wanted him to coach their team. Ginny and the children had also had their chance to explore France and see just what the country had to offer.

"I want to take the job, Gin," Harry said to his wife. "It's an opportunity I've never gotten at home. The club have given me V.I.P tickets for next weekend's match, and I was thinking it would be the perfect time to accept their offer."

"We'd have to talk to the kids before then," Ginny said. "We can't just spring this on them."

"How do you think they'll take it?" Harry asked.

"They seem to be liking France," Ginny answered. "We've been all over and the people are really friendly, and more importantly most of them speak English as well as French. And it's not like the kids will have to move schools, will they?"

"I don't think so," Harry replied. "Albus and Lily will be back at school before we make the move, and I was thinking we would keep the house in England and spend Christmases at home near to your family. At Easter, the kids can either stay at Hogwarts, come over to France, or they could even just spend the holidays with your parents. Obviously they'd be over here in the summer, but I thought we could always spend the last few weeks of the summer back in England, so we're already there when it's time for them to go back to Hogwarts. I see no reason why they need to change schools."

"What about James, how do you think he'll take it?" Ginny asked.

"Now that, I'm not sure of," Harry admitted. "But he might take it as a positive thing. He might even let me set up a meeting with the Falcons. If I'm not in the picture, he might feel less pressure to live up to me. And I was thinking we could always buy him a flat before we moved."

"Now that should keep him happy," Ginny chuckled. "I'm sure most teenage boys would love their parents to buy them their own flat."

"He's earnt it," Harry replied. "He's a good kid, really."

"He is," Ginny agreed. Even though James wasn't the easiest of her children, she knew he was still basically a good kid. They'd certainly never had any serious problems with him.

"So we've decided?" Harry checked with his wife. "I'm taking the job?"

"Yes, you're taking the job," Ginny answered with a grin as she leant over and pressed her lips against Harry's.

Almost the second Harry started to kiss her back, the couple were disturbed by their children shouting. Breaking apart, they turned to find Albus and Lily calling for Harry to join them in the pool.

"Are you coming?" Harry asked as he got to his feet.

"No, you go and enjoy yourself," Ginny answered, settling back on the lounger as her husband ran towards the pool and dove into the water.

Ginny watched as Harry began to swim around and mess around with their two youngest children. Just watching Harry being the great father he always was, made Ginny smile. Although, as she watched them she couldn't help but think about how close she'd come to never having the family she did have. She'd very nearly lost everything, thanks to her lax attitude in the early days of her relationship with Harry.

When Ginny and Harry had first gotten together, things had been a bit temperamental between the pair of them. As much as they were attracted to each other and cared for each other, they often wound each other up, and for the first few years of their relationship they were constantly breaking up and getting back together again. At the time, Ginny had never worried about the complex relationship they had as she'd always been confident that when the time came they would settle down and be together forever. Then came the bombshell that on one of their breaks, Harry had gotten Hermione pregnant.

Just remembering the incident gave Ginny chills, and even though it had been twenty years ago, she still felt a simmering hatred towards Hermione as she recalled the incident. Fortunately, Harry hadn't been stirred by the news of Hermione's pregnancy, if anything it had just made him realise it was Ginny he loved. In fact, the very day he'd discovered Hermione was pregnant, Harry had proposed to Ginny and vowed to her that she was the witch he'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Ginny had been more than happy to accept his proposal as she didn't want to lose him to Hermione. However, she'd given Harry a couple of ultimatums. Firstly, he'd had to make sure Hermione got rid of the baby, and secondly he'd had to make sure she stayed out of their lives. While Ginny wouldn't have actually followed through on leaving Harry if he hadn't obeyed her, he hadn't known that and he'd gone off and fulfilled her wishes. He'd spoken to Hermione, and he'd ensured that she got rid of the baby and never bothered them again.

The news that Hermione had gotten rid of the baby, and wouldn't be a part of their lives ever again, should have been enough to set Ginny's mind at rest, but she'd still been so worried about losing Harry. She often worried that he'd come to regret getting Hermione to get rid of their baby. Ginny had confided her worries to her mother, and Molly had advised her on the best way to ensure that Harry remained loyal to her and never gave Hermione a second thought.

Firstly, Molly had told Ginny to set a date for the wedding, and before Ginny had even gone back to Hogwarts for her final year, a date for the wedding had been set for the week after she left school. Molly had then told Ginny to get pregnant and give Harry a child as soon as she could, that way he wouldn't have time to think about the child he'd gotten Hermione to abort. Since she'd been at school for most of the year, it hadn't been easy, but Ginny had made sure to get Harry up to Hogsmeade as often as possible and before she graduated, she was pregnant.

So a year after Hermione had showed up pregnant with Harry's child, Ginny and Harry were married and a few months later they'd welcomed James into the world just before Christmas. Then came Lily and Albus, and their family was complete. And more importantly, Ginny was confident that Harry never thought about Hermione and the child they could have had together. After all, there was no reason for him to even think about Hermione, when he had everything he could ever want with Ginny and their children.

Even so, Ginny was very grateful that things hadn't turned out differently. It could have all been so different, and it was times like these, as she watched her family together, that Ginny was grateful for her mother's advice. Thanks to Molly they'd dealt with the Hermione situation, and it was now nothing more than a mere blip in their history. Hermione was ancient history, and Ginny couldn't be happier.

Ginny was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of someone exiting the villa behind her. Since Harry, Albus and Lily were all in the pool, it could only be James, but she hadn't expected her son to be back so early. Sure enough, when Ginny sat up and looked behind her she spotted a despondent James skulking out of the villa.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked in concern as her son slumped into a nearby chair. "I thought you were off with your new friend. Weren't you going to her house for the afternoon?"

"I was," James confirmed.

"Then what happened?" Ginny pressed.

"I got kicked out," James confessed moodily.

"Kicked out?" Ginny screeched, attracting Harry's attention in the pool and causing her husband to leave their other children to come and see what the fuss was about.

"What's going on?" He asked as he towelled himself off.

"James was kicked out of his friend's house," Ginny supplied.

"Why?" Harry frowned.

"Hell if I know," James snorted with a shrug. "Everything was going fine until Scarlett's mother caught sight of me. The second she saw me she freaked out and told me to leave. Then Scarlett's father turned up, and his reaction was pretty much the same. It wasn't as severe as his wife's but it was still pretty strong."

"Let me get this straight," Ginny muttered. "You were kicked out just because they didn't like the look of you?"

"I think there was more going on than that," James said. "But Scarlett's mother was so shaken, I figured it was best that I leave. Scarlett promised to be in touch when she's got some answers."

"I wouldn't mind some answers myself," Harry fumed. "Just who do these people think they are throwing you out of their home before they've even gotten to know you?"

"Who are these people, James?" Ginny questioned. They hadn't actually pressed James over his new friends as he'd been in such a good mood since meeting them that they hadn't wanted to ruin that.

"I can't remember Scarlett's parents' names, but their surname is Malfoy," James supplied.

"Malfoy," Ginny screeched. "You've been seeing a Malfoy?"

"You know the family?" James asked, wondering if his parents had something to do with Scarlett's parents taking against him so quickly.

"You could say that," Harry muttered. "I went to school with Draco Malfoy."

"Ah, that's it," James interrupted. "Draco. That's the name of Scarlett's father."

"I don't know what he and his snob of a wife are playing at, but they're not worth the fuss, James," Harry assured his son. "Malfoy was always a git in school, and you don't want to get mixed up with his rotten family. They've probably done you a favour by kicking you out."

"Yeah, you're better off without this Scarlett girl," Ginny added. "Malfoys are nothing but trouble, James. It's better to just avoid the lot of them."

"Doesn't look like I've got much choice now, does it?" James scowled as he got to his feet. "Scarlett's parents clearly don't like me, and she's not going to go against them. It looks like I've lost her."

Before Harry and Ginny had a chance to say anything else to their son he turned and stalked back into the villa, where he locked himself in his room and didn't emerge for the rest of the day. In fact, the only time James even got off his bed was when an owl from Scarlett arrived, asking him to meet her at a café in Paris the following afternoon.

* * *

Scarlett was a bag of nerves as she waited for James to arrive in the café where she'd asked to meet him. She'd taken the day off sick from her training course in order to sort things with James. After a restless night, she'd decided to make an excuse to never see Jamie again. Since she had no intention of initiating a relationship with Harry, she didn't see any need to hurt James by revealing their family connection. She would just make up an excuse as to why she couldn't see him again.

Scarlett was still trying to decide on the best excuse to give James when he entered the café. Even though she now knew about their connection, she still reacted the same way as normal when she spotted the handsome wizard. Her heart rate sped up and she felt butterflies inside as he approached her with a wary smile. It seemed like her body hadn't quite got the message that he was out of bounds, and it was still acting as though she fancied him. Annoyed at herself for reacting that way, Scarlett crossed her arms over her chest and placed her most stoic expression on her face, a talent she'd learnt from her father.

"Hey," James greeted cautiously. Normally he would have greeted Scarlett with a kiss, but her body language wasn't exactly welcoming.

"Hello," Scarlett replied quietly. "I've ordered some juice," She added, gesturing to the two glasses on the table.

"Thanks," James said as he slid into the chair opposite Scarlett. "I think I know what's coming here."

"Do you?" Scarlett asked with wide eyes, wondering if his father had told him the truth when he'd gone home.

"Yes, our parents went to school together and they didn't like each other," James answered. "Or at least our fathers did. I'm assuming your mother did as well, given her reaction to me. And now you're going to say you can't see me because I'm a Potter and Malfoys and Potters can't be together."

"It's true our fathers didn't like each other in school," Scarlett replied. After her walk she'd spent hours talking with her parents, and Draco had told her all about his bad relationship with Harry.

"So we can't see each other because of that," James stated sadly.

"Partly," Scarlett lied. "And the other reason is my work. Since I've been seeing you, I've been falling behind with my work. I can't let a holiday romance threaten my chance of becoming a Healer."

James blinked in surprise as he realised Scarlett was lying to him. He wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't mentioned her healer training. He knew for a fact that she wasn't falling behind with her work, in fact there'd been a couple of occasions when she left early to do some work. He didn't for one minute believe that she'd let their romance affect her work, so that meant she was lying to him for some reason.

"I'm sorry Jamie," Scarlett said as she got to his feet. "Good luck with your quidditch."

"Wait," James cried, jumping up and running after Scarlett as she hurried out of the café.

"Leave me alone, Jamie," Scarlett called over her shoulder as they emerged out into the bright street.

"No," James replied, grabbing Scarlett's arm and whirling her around to face him. "Tel me the truth, Scarlett. What is going on? Why did your mother react that way when she saw me yesterday?"

"As you said, our parents didn't like each other in school," Scarlett replied with a shrug.

"Unless your mother is a bigoted bitch, which I doubt considering you're nothing like that, she wouldn't have reacted so strongly to me," James argued. "Yes, I look like my father, but there was no reason for such an extreme reaction if she merely didn't like him in school. Something else is going on here."

"Nothing else is going on. Just let me go, Jamie," Scarlett pleaded as she tried to pull out of James's firm grip.

"Not until you tell me the truth," James hissed. He didn't often lose his temper, but when he did, he was every bit as fiery as his mother, who had a wicked temper at times.

"I am telling you the truth," Scarlett replied. "I don't want to see you again, so just leave me alone."

"Why? Tell me why?" James shouted, getting right in Scarlett's face.

"Because you're my half-brother," Scarlett screeched angrily as she roughly yanked her arm out of James's grasp.

"What?" James whispered, staggering backwards at Scarlett's revelation.

"I'm so sorry, Jamie," Scarlett whispered. "I never meant to tell you this. But the reason we can't see each other is because you're my half-brother. Your father, Harry, is also my biological father."

"No," James croaked in a broken voice as his entire world crumbled around him.

He wanted to say Scarlett was lying, but what reason would she have to make up such a horrid lie? Like it or not, he would have to listen to her and try and find out just what she was talking about. Maybe it was just a mistake and she'd gotten confused, or maybe his father had lied to him his entire life. Either way, James needed to find out the truth. He needed to find out if the girl he'd been seeing was really his half-sister.


	16. Chapter 16

As she watched James' face crumble, Scarlett regretted blurting out the truth in such a manner. She'd hadn't even meant to tell him the real reason she couldn't ever see him again, let alone in such a brutal fashion. However, she'd been taken aback by James's aggression, and even though she hadn't thought he was going to hurt her, his actions had angered her and she'd lashed out by revealing the truth. However, she now felt terrible for causing James unnecessary pain.

"Jamie, I'm sorry," Scarlett whispered softly.

"You're wrong," James replied in a broken voice. "There's been some sort of mistake."

"There's no mistake," Scarlett said gently. "Do you want to sit down and I can tell you everything?"

James nodded mutely, and even though they were standing outside of the café they'd just walked out of, Scarlett turned around and walked down the street to a nearby park. James silently followed after Scarlett as she entered the park and settled down on one of the benches situated around a small pond.

"I guess I should start from the beginning," Scarlett said as James sat down on the bench beside her.

"I guess so," James said quietly. He was still reeling by the revelation, and he just hoped Scarlett could help things make sense, as right now, nothing made sense to him.

"As I said, your father also happens to be my biological father," Scarlett began. "I've always known that Dad wasn't my biological father, but he's my father in every other way. He and Mum got together when I was just a baby, and he adopted me at the same time they got married. I can remember the adoption and the marriage, but I can't remember a time when Dad wasn't in my life. He's been there for me since I was one, and he couldn't love me more if I was his own flesh and blood."

"I'm pleased you've got such good parents, but where does my father fit into things?" James interrupted sharply.

"As I said, I grew up knowing that Dad wasn't my biological father," Scarlett continued, ignoring James's sharp tone of voice as she understood he was upset. "As soon as I was old enough to understand things, my Mum sat me down and explained everything. She told me how she'd had a good friend in school, and how they'd ended up together one time. It was never a relationship, it was just a one-time thing and unfortunately, Mum ended up pregnant. When she told her friend, she expected him to support her, but he didn't. He told her to get rid of me, and he kicked her out of his life. Mum was left all alone, pregnant and barely out of school."

"No, that's wrong," James insisted with a confused frown. "My parents have been together for years. They were already together when Dad left Hogwarts. To get your Mum pregnant, he would have to cheat on Mum, and Dad's not a cheat."

"For years, all I knew about my biological father was that he was Mum's closest friend in school and that he didn't want to know either of us when she discovered she was pregnant," Scarlett explained. "But last night, Mum told me more. She said your parents were always fighting and splitting up, and the night she spent with your father was after he'd broken up with your Mum again. So your Dad didn't cheat on your Mum, Jamie."

"That still makes no sense," James protested. "Mum and Dad are so in love. Mum always says she fell in love with Dad the second she met him. They've always given the impression that they've been happy and in love since their teenage years."

"Maybe they didn't want to tell you all about their torrid past," Scarlett suggested gently. "After all, what does it matter to you and your siblings if your parents had a rocky start?"

"I guess," James mumbled. "But even if all this is true, why would Dad be so mean to your Mum? Dad's a good person."

"He might be to you, but not to me and my Mum," Scarlett replied sharply. "Believe me or not, Jamie, but I know the truth. He found out Mum was pregnant and he washed his hands of her. He gave her money for an abortion and warned her to stay out of his life. That was why she moved to France, to give us a fresh start."

"So Dad doesn't know about you?" James questioned.

"He knows, he just doesn't care," Scarlett snorted. "Mum wrote to him after I was born, and he sent the letter back with one of his own claiming he didn't have a daughter. I've seen the letter, Jamie. Your father knows I exist, he just chooses to pretend that I don't."

"Do you want to see him?" James asked quietly. Even though he wanted to scream and shout and tell Scarlett she was lying, he knew she wasn't. He could hear the sincerity in her voice, and he knew that for the first time in his life he was finding out just what sort of person his father was.

"God no," Scarlett gasped in horror. "I've told you, Jamie, I've got a father who I love, and who loves me. I do not need, or want, Harry Potter in my life. If we hadn't met, I wouldn't have even known his name."

"You didn't know his name?" James queried in surprise.

"In my shoes, would you want to know the name of the wizard who abandoned you before ever meeting you?" Scarlett shot back.

"I guess not," James conceded, seeing Scarlett's point. Why on earth would she want to know about a man who walked away from her before she was even born?

"So until yesterday, I never knew the name of the wizard who had fathered me," Scarlett said. "Then I introduced you to Mum, and you know the rest."

"Yeah," James replied with a grimace as he recalled the previous day and the horror on Scarlett's mother's face. "Damn, no wonder your Mum reacted so badly."

"She's sorry for that by the way," Scarlett said. "She just couldn't believe it when she saw you. Apparently you look just like your father."

"I do," James confirmed. Aside from the fact he didn't wear glasses like his father, he was virtually Harry's double.

"Well, it understandable gave her a shock," Scarlett continued. "Then of course she was worried about how close we might have become."

James momentarily frowned in confusion, before he understood what Scarlett meant and a sick feeling pooled in his stomach. He'd kissed his half-sister, not to mention the numerous sexual thoughts he'd had about her. Fortunately, they hadn't known each other long enough to have slept together, but even what they had done was enough to turn James's stomach.

"Bloody hell," James whispered, bending over and putting his head in between his legs as he felt nauseous.

"My thoughts exactly," Scarlett whispered with a shudder. It still made her feel sick to know that she'd kissed her half-brother.

"What do we do now?" James asked as he looked up at Scarlett.

"Obviously we can't see each other again," Scarlett began.

"Not at all?" James jumped in. "What if I want to get to know my sister?"

"You really think that's a good idea considering how we feel about each other?" Scarlett questioned.

"Maybe not right now, but in a few months when things have settled down," James replied. "Like it or not, we're family, Scarlett. You can't hide from it."

"I've got a family, Jamie," Scarlett said gently. "I've got a family who actually want me."

"Don't tar us all with the same brush," James snapped. "Dad may have been a bastard and walked out on you, but we didn't all get that choice. Until ten minutes ago, I didn't know you existed."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Scarlett said sheepishly. "I would actually like to stay in touch, but only if it's not too awkward. But whatever happens, I don't want anything to do with your father. I'm sorry Jamie, but there'll be no happy family reunions on the horizon. I hate Harry Potter with every fibre of my being, and nothing will change that."

"I can't say that I blame you there," James confessed. "And I'm not trying to orchestrate a family reunion. I just don't want to lose you from my life."

"And you can cope having me as a sister, rather than a girlfriend?" Scarlett asked. It sounded nice to keep in touch, but she didn't know how it would work given their attraction to one another. She certainly didn't want to have James in her life if she just ended up jealous of his girlfriends and eaten up with guilt because she was still attracted to him.

"I'm not saying it won't be hard, but I want to give it a go," James replied.

"I'm willing to try," Scarlett said. "But I do think we need some distance for a while. How about we give it a couple of months and if you still want to stay in touch, send me an owl."

"I will," James replied.

"I should be off," Scarlett said as she got to her feet. "I'm really sorry, Jamie. I wish you hadn't been hurt this way."

"And I wish you hadn't been hurt, either," James replied with a small, sad smile. "Neither of us are to blame, Scarlett. We didn't know what the situation was. We've just been unlucky."

"Very," Scarlett agreed. "Goodbye Jamie."

"Goodbye," James whispered as he watched Scarlett hurry out of the park and disappear around the corner.

Instead of getting up and heading back to the villa, James remained in the park, lost in his own thoughts. If he was being honest, he was still struggling to accept that Scarlett was his half-sister. But it wasn't because he thought she was lying, on the contrary, he believed everything Scarlett had just told him. He just couldn't believe that there was another, not very nice side to his father that he'd never seen before. It was hard to believe that big family man, Harry Potter, would walk away from his unborn child and refuse to acknowledge her. And not only that, he'd then moved on incredibly quickly and had James himself, as he was only nine months younger than Scarlett.

Shaking his head at his father's actions, James made a decision as he got up to head back to the villa. He couldn't just carry on as though nothing was wrong. He was going to go back to the villa, pack his stuff and go home. Once home he would then grab the rest of his things and head to a friend's house. He was through with Harry, and right at this moment he wanted to be as far away from his father as was possible.

Apparating back to the villa, James was relieved to find the place empty. Not wasting any time, he grabbed the few bits and pieces he had lying around before going to his room and packing his bag. Knowing he couldn't just go without saying anything, James took his bag downstairs while he scribbled a quick note to his mother to let her know he was home. Once back in England he would then send her an owl to let her know he'd arrived home safely.

Unfortunately for James, he'd only just finished the note when the front door opened and his brother and sister entered the villa, followed by his parents. Since he'd left his bag in the front room while he wrote the note in the kitchen, James couldn't slip away unnoticed. Sure enough, the first thing he heard Ginny remark on was his packed bag sitting on the sofa in the front room.

"James," Harry called loudly.

"James, what is going on?" Ginny shouted.

Taking a deep breath, James headed for the front room where he found his parents staring at his bag in bewilderment. There was no sign of Lily and Albus, so James was assuming they'd either headed straight upstairs, or outside to the pool.

"James?" Ginny questioned.

"I'm going home," James announced as he picked his bag up and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll send you an owl when I get home so you know I've arrived safely."

"You can't just leave," Ginny protested. "This is a family holiday."

"It's that Malfoy girl, isn't it?" Harry seethed. "That little cow is the reason you're leaving."

"This has nothing to do with Scarlett, and don't call her names," James hissed angrily at his father.

"Don't speak to your father that way," Ginny scolded her eldest son.

"I can speak to him however I choose," James spat. "He's nothing to me."

"What is all this about, James?" Harry asked, slightly taken aback by his son's hostile attitude. "Just what sort of lies has that wicked Malfoy bitch being spreading? I'm telling you know James, don't listen to Malfoys, the whole lot of them are rotten to the core."

"If anyone's rotten, it's you," James snarled. "And if you call Scarlett one more name, I'm going to do what her mother should have done all those years ago and hex you into oblivion."

"Her mother?" Harry frowned.

"Yes, the witch you got pregnant and tried to force to have an abortion," James snapped. "You remember her, don't you Dad? You remember the witch you abandoned when she was pregnant with your daughter."

"Hermione," Harry whispered as his legs gave way beneath him and he sunk into a nearby chair.

"Hermione?" Ginny screeched. "Just was has that cow got to do with anything?"

"How delightful my parents are," James muttered. "That cow as you so nicely put it, Mum, is Scarlett's mother. And just in case there's any doubt here, that makes Scarlett my half-sister."

"That's not possible," Ginny whispered in horror as she turned to her husband. "Tell me this is a lie, Harry. How can this be happening? Hermione got rid of the baby, didn't she?"

"I don't know," Harry lied, feeling ill as his past lies caught up with him.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Ginny yelled. "You promised me that you'd sorted it."

"When I went to see her she wouldn't agree to the abortion," Harry confessed. "I knew I couldn't persuade her, so I left her the money and told her to stay away. When we never heard from her again, I assumed she'd seen sense and got rid of the baby. I didn't think it really mattered since she was out of our lives, and that was what you really wanted."

"You?" James turned to his mother in disgust. "You wanted her to get rid of the baby? How could you suggest such a thing?"

"I just wanted her gone," Ginny protested. "I didn't want her and her child taking your father off me."

"Nothing could have taken me off you, Gin," Harry soothed his wife. "I love you, I always have and I always will. Hermione was a blip, nothing more."

"She is a bit more though, isn't she?" James hissed, disgusted with both his parents. "She's the mother of your oldest child. The child you abandoned and denied all knowledge of. You're pathetic, and I want nothing more to do with you."

"James, we can explain," Harry pleaded as his son turned towards the door.

"I don't need any explanations, I know the truth," James retorted. "And I'm disgusted with the pair of you. I'm going home, and I'm moving out. Don't try to contact me, as right now, I don't want to see either of you."

"James, don't go," Ginny sobbed, running over to her son and clinging onto his arm. "What about your brother and sister? You can't walk out on them."

"I'll be in touch with Lily and Albus once they're back home," James said, brushing his mother off him. Giving his parents one final, disgusted look, he turned on his heel and left the villa for the final time.

As she watched her son leave, Ginny broke down in hysterical sobs. When Harry tried to comfort her, she pushed her husband off and whirled on him in anger.

"This is all your fault," She seethed, lashing out and slapping Harry across the cheek. "Why didn't you make sure she got rid of that blasted baby?"

"I thought she had," Harry argued. "I thought she'd seen sense. I didn't know she'd had the baby and raised it on her own."

"She's hardly on her own," Ginny retorted. "It looks like she's had Malfoy helping her out. Just think Harry, your first born has been raised by Draco sodding Malfoy. Your daughter is a Malfoy."

Ginny let out a bitter laugh as her husband's face contorted in horror. Leaving Harry to dwell on the bombshell James had dropped on them, Ginny hurried upstairs to the master bedroom. Locking the door behind her, she collapsed onto the bed as she tried to come to terms with what had happened. She'd been so sure that Hermione was history. Now she and her daughter were back to cause trouble. Well, Ginny wasn't going to let that happen. She wasn't going to let Hermione and her jumped up daughter come along and tear her family apart. It looked like she would have to do what she should have done all those years ago, and deal with Hermione herself. Ginny would ensure that neither Hermione nor her daughter bothered Harry, James, or any other members of her family ever again.


	17. Chapter 17

After James had left and Ginny had locked herself in her bedroom, Harry was left to deal with the day's revelations. When Lily and Albus asked about their mother and brother, Harry told them that James had gone home to see his friends, while he said Ginny was feeling unwell and had gone for a lie down. Sending his two youngest children back outside to enjoy the rest of the afternoon by the pool, Harry's thoughts turned to his eldest child.

Over the years, Harry had tried not to think about the daughter he didn't know, but now he had no option but to think about her. Especially with the revelation that she'd been raised by Malfoy. In all the scenarios Harry could ever have imagined, Hermione ending up with Malfoy wouldn't have been one of them. He was struggling to see Malfoy even getting together with Hermione, let alone raising a child that wasn't his. It was certainly unexpected, and part of him needed to see it for himself. He needed to see Hermione and his daughter, and see if they were truly happy with Malfoy.

Of course, Harry knew that his wife would not approve of any attempt to see Hermione. It had been Ginny that had insisted on Hermione being removed from their life, and he knew she wouldn't approve if he wanted to go and see his ex-friend. If he was going to try and see Hermione, he would have to do it behind Ginny's back. But did he want to betray his wife in such a way?

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her," Harry muttered to himself as he weighed up his options.

He could easily find Hermione and pay her a visit. That way he could get to see his daughter in the flesh, and see if she was happy. He didn't really regret walking away from Hermione and their daughter, as it was what was best for him and Ginny, but it would be good to know that the pair had a settled life. Although he would have preferred it if Malfoy didn't have anything to do with them. He really wasn't keen on the fact that his eldest child had been raised as a Malfoy.

Deciding that he would find out where Hermione lived and pay her a secret visit, Harry headed off to smooth things over with his wife. Even though he was going to pay Hermione and his daughter a visit, his wife and the three children they had together were his priority. He was not going to lose them, especially for a mistake he'd made twenty years ago.

"Ginny, can I come in?" Harry called, knocking on the bedroom door.

"I suppose so," Ginny called back and Harry heard the lock slide open.

Entering the room, Harry found his wife sitting at the window, watching Lily and Albus down in the pool. Joining his wife on the window seat, Harry looked down at the oblivious pair. They were both still enjoying their holiday, and they had no idea of the turmoil within the rest of the family.

"I don't want this to ruin anything," Harry said gently. "I love you and the kids, Gin. You're my whole world."

"I know that," Ginny replied.

"So what do we do?" Harry asked.

"For starters you can't take the job," Ginny said. "I'm not moving to France, not now I know she's here."

"I can turn the job offer down at the match at the weekend," Harry said. Like Ginny, he felt taking a job in France wasn't the wisest move. "We can then go home early and try to fix things with James."

"I'd like that," Ginny said with a nod. "But Albus and Lily are not to find out about this, Harry. I don't want them finding out about your secret love child."

"She's not a love child. I didn't know she existed until today," Harry argued. He knew he was lying to Ginny as he'd always known he'd had a daughter, but he really didn't think that admitting that to his wife after so long was going to achieve anything. It was really was better to let Ginny think that Harry had been in the dark all these years.

"I know, Hermione lied to you," Ginny said, taking hold of her husband's hand. "She played us all for fools. She took your money and set herself up in a new life over here."

"It's in the past, let's just leave it there," Harry suggested. He really didn't want Ginny digging too deeply into the past in case she discovered that Harry had always known that he had a daughter, he'd just had no idea where she and Hermione were.

"Do you think James can do that?" Ginny asked.

"He's just in shock," Harry said. "Once he's had time to calm down, he'll see sense. He'll understand that it was something that happened twenty years ago. No-one deceived him, it's just a part of our lives we never mentioned to him."

"And what if he wants to keep seeing her?" Ginny questioned.

"He's not going to want to see the girl he was falling for only to find out she was his sister," Harry snorted. "Why do you think he went running home? He wants nothing to do with her, and neither do I. Let's just forget about this mess and move on. Let's leave all this trouble behind when we go home."

"Let's," Ginny agreed as she rose to her feet and headed towards the bathroom.

Of course she wasn't ready to just leave the past behind them just yet, first she was going to pay Hermione a visit just to remind her who was in charge. It would be easy enough to find Hermione as wizarding France wasn't the biggest community, and when she did, she would deliver a message to Hermione that would keep her away from her family. She'd almost lost everything twenty years ago because of Hermione, and there was no way she was going to lose everything now. Hermione had to be warned to keep herself and her brat of her daughter out of the Potters lives.

* * *

Hermione and Draco were pretty shocked when Scarlett informed them that she'd ended up telling James the truth about their family connection. Even though they both understood why had daughter had ended up telling James the truth, it did give them cause for concern. Hermione was especially worried that it would bring Harry back into their lives. Even though it was too late for him to come along and try to get custody of Scarlett, Hermione still didn't like the idea of him turning up and turning all of their lives upside down. After all, after abandoning Scarlett before she was even born, he'd lost all right to call himself her father in Hermione's opinion.

"You honestly think he's going to turn up?" Draco asked his wife as she got ready for work following a couple of restless night's sleep. Ever since Scarlett had informed them of what had happened with James, Hermione had been fretting and she was barely sleeping with worry.

"I just don't know," Hermione replied with a frustrated sigh. After twenty years she couldn't believe the past was rearing its ugly head. "He's had nineteen years to come looking for Scarlett, but now she's been dropped in his lap. The temptation might be too much for him. In his shoes, wouldn't you be curious about your eldest child?"

"No, because I would never have walked away from her," Draco replied. "Even if I was in a situation like you and Potter, and I wasn't with the mother of my child, I wouldn't have walked away. You can be a father without being with the person you have a child with. Potter could have done the right thing, but he chose to walk away from Scarlett. So, I'm sorry, but I can't put myself in his shoes and it's a place I would never be. I'm no angel, and I don't claim to be, but I wouldn't dream of walking away from my child."

"And that's just one of the reason why I love you," Hermione said with a smile as she crossed over to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. "I love what a great father you are, to all three of our children."

"As I said, I'm not perfect, but family is important to me," Draco replied. "My family is the most important thing in my life, and I will not stand back and watch as Potter walks all over our happiness. If he does show up, he's going to be in for a hell of a shock when I tell him just what a worthless worm I think he is."

"Let's hope it doesn't become an issue," Hermione said. "I can do without having Potters in my life."

"You and me both, sweetheart," Draco said, giving Hermione a kiss before she stepped out of his arms and continued to fix her hair.

"I'm going to try not to worry about things that I can't control," Hermione said as she grabbed her bag. "I'm off to work. Can you get Scorp and Cassie to my parents this morning? I've got a new exhibit to plan for."

"I can," Draco confirmed with a nod. It was already in his diary that it was his turn to sort the kids before he headed off to work.

"Thanks," Hermione said, giving Draco a smile and a quick kiss. "I love you."

"Love you too," Draco replied as his wife darted off to work.

Vowing to leave her worries at home, Hermione headed off to work feeling positive. After a general check that things at the museum were running smoothly, she headed to the floor where the new exhibit was going to be on display. Hermione spent most of the morning co-ordinating things with the witch who would be in charge of the exhibit. The young witch was one of their newer members of staff, and Hermione saw great promise in her so she was letting her have free reign over the exhibit, all she was doing was giving things the final go-ahead.

As it neared lunchtime, Hermione left the exhibit in the capable hands of the witch in charge and headed back towards her office. However, she didn't take the direct route back to her office, as she took the time to check out how popular the exhibits seemed to be. She often strolled around the museum, just to see if there were any exhibits that people didn't seem interested in. Hermione was half way around a newish exhibit on Parisian fashion when she spotted her assistant, Erica.

"Is there a problem?" Hermione asked when her assistant approached her. She was immediately wondering if Harry had turned up somewhere and started causing problems for Scarlett.

"There's a witch waiting for you in your office," Erica replied sheepishly. "I told her that she didn't have an appointment and that you're a busy woman, but she insisted. She refused to leave, and I almost called security. To be honest, I let her into your office to avoid a scene. I can always call security now if you want."

"Who is this woman?" Hermione frowned. Most of the people she dealt with in a professional capacity made appointments, and they were never rude to her staff.

"She wouldn't give her name, she would just say it was personal," Erica supplied. "I would say she was about your age, fairly attractive, red hair, English accent."

Hermione briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she realised who was in her office. The witch could be none other than Ginny Potter. Who else would come to her place of work and cause a scene. Ginny never did have any class, and it would seem she was still the same impetuous witch she'd been as a teenager.

"Should I call security?" Erica asked.

"I'll deal with it," Hermione reassured her assistant. "You get yourself off to lunch."

Erica didn't seem too convinced, but Hermione didn't give her a chance to argue as she headed off to her office to deal with Ginny. As predicated when she entered her office, she found Ginny standing in her office. The redhead was standing beside Hermione's desk, a picture of Hermione and Draco in her hand, which normally resided on a bookshelf along with a couple of other family pictures.

"Ginny," Hermione greeted with a nod as she plucked the frame out of the redhead's hands and returned it to its rightful place. "Long time, no see."

"Not long enough," Ginny retorted.

"Yet you're the one who sought me out," Hermione pointed out. "Why are you here, Ginny?"

"I'm sure you know why," Ginny snorted. "Our families have recently come into contact."

"I'm aware," Hermione replied, her mind automatically flashing back to the shock she'd received when she'd seen James in her kitchen over the weekend.

"Consider this a friendly warning," Ginny said, shooting Hermione a sickly sweet smile. "Stay away from my family, Hermione. You and your daughter. You tried to steal Harry once and it didn't work, and it won't work this time."

"You are so deluded," Hermione retorted with a humourless laugh. "I never tried to steal Harry in the first place. We spent one night together, and that was it. I never wanted him for myself. And as for now, in case it slipped your attention I'm happily married. I do believe you were looking at a picture of my gorgeous husband when I entered the room. Now why the hell would I want a worm like Harry, when I've got Draco?"

"Malfoy may be hot, but he's still a bad seed," Ginny hissed. "You can't deny his family's dark past."

"As you say, Ginny, it's the past," Hermione replied with a shrug. "The Malfoys aren't the people they used to be. But I don't need to justify my family to you. It is none of your business."

"But your daughter is," Ginny said. "She is after all, my stepdaughter."

"No, she's nothing to do with you," Hermione snapped. "Or Harry for that matter. Scarlett is my daughter, mine and Draco's. We're her parents."

"Just because you kept Harry in the dark all these years, doesn't mean she's not his," Ginny protested. She wasn't even sure why she was arguing with Hermione, since she wanted her and her daughter to stay away from their family, but Hermione's insistence of cutting Harry from Scarlett's life was grating on her. "After all, who paid for your fancy set up in France? Harry did, that's who."

"You need to talk to your husband, Ginny," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "You don't have the full facts."

"I have all the facts," Ginny shot back. "I know you lied to Harry about having an abortion, and I know you used the money he gave you to set up your new life here. I'm not stupid, Hermione."

"That is a matter of opinion," Hermione replied with a low chuckle. "I never told Harry I would get an abortion. In fact, I made it perfectly clear that wasn't an option. As for the money he left, I gave it to a muggle children's charity."

"All of it?" Ginny squeaked in horror. She wasn't sure of the exchange rate between wizarding and magical money, but she knew Harry had given Hermione a fair bit of money to get her out of their lives.

"Every last penny," Hermione confirmed with a sly smirk. She got the feeling that Ginny was unimpressed that Harry's money had gone to a muggle charity. "And for your information, it was my parents who funded our move to France. And lastly, Harry was not kept in the dark about my daughter. I wrote to him when she was born."

"Liar," Ginny hissed. "You did no such thing."

"I did," Hermione replied. "He returned the letter, claiming he hadn't read it, but in his own letter he mentioned that he had no daughter. So tell me Ginny, how did he know I'd had a girl if he hadn't read the letter? Like it or not, Harry's always known about Scarlett. He's just chosen to stay away. And now I'll give you a friendly warning. Stay away from my family or you will regret it. You don't want to mess with Malfoys, Ginny, we're wicked."

Hermione smirked as Ginny paled slightly and backed off as Hermione fixed her with her most deadly glare.

"Just stay away," Ginny muttered as she yanked open the office door.

"Right back at you, Ginny," Hermione called as her former friend bolted from the museum.

The second Ginny was gone, Hermione slammed the door to her office and silently slumped into her chair. She couldn't believe the nerve of the woman, coming to her place of work and threatening her. And for what reason? Because she was a jealous cow who clearly didn't trust her husband. Hermione had no interest in Harry, she never had done, and Ginny was just too insecure to see it. Although Hermione was hoping that it would be the end of things. Hopefully now Ginny would rush her family back to England and Hermione would never had to set eyes on her or Harry again. It was certainly the outcome Hermione was hoping for, she just didn't know if it was the outcome she was going to get.


	18. Chapter 18

Sitting on the sofa enjoying a glass of wine, Hermione watched as her three children debated what film the family were going to watch. As always it was a lively debate with all three offering different opinions, but Hermione knew they would reach a compromise and things wouldn't get out of hand. Although at the moment she doubted her youngest two children would cause a fuss, because even though they'd been reassured that Scarlett wasn't going anywhere, there was still an air of concern around the two younger members of the family. Truth be told, Hermione herself was still concerned over recent events.

Hermione wasn't worried about losing Scarlett. After all her daughter was an adult, and she could do whatever and go wherever where she pleased. However, it was disconcerting to have the past brought back up in such a shocking way. As if it wasn't bad enough coming face to face with Harry's son, she'd then been bothered at work by Ginny. Hermione was still seething over Ginny's audacity the previous day. She still couldn't believe the redheaded witch had dared to show up at her place of work and hurl her wild allegations around.

Shaking her head to get Ginny out of her thoughts, Hermione got to her feet. Placing her wine down on the table she asked if anyone wanted popcorn for the film.

"That would be great, Mum," Scarlett replied with a smile as Scorpius and Cassiopeia nodded their agreement.

"Popcorn coming up," Hermione said as she headed into the kitchen to sort some treats for the film.

Five minutes later, Hermione returned to the front room with the popcorn. A film had been chosen and the kids were all settled down waiting for her return. Draco had even shown up and he was lounging on the sofa where Hermione had been sitting curled up.

"Before we begin, I have an offer for you," Draco said. "Well technically, Blaise has an offer for us."

"What sort of offer?" Hermione asked as she placed the popcorn on the table and Scorpius immediately scooped up a handful.

"He's got V.I.P tickets for a quidditch match at the weekend," Draco explained. "He's got a box via one of the clubs he used to play for. He's asked us all to join him in the box. I figured we could ask my parents and yours. It could be a good family day out. It might make up for our barbecue disaster."

"I think it sounds great," Hermione replied with a nod.

Quidditch wasn't her favourite pastime, but the kids loved the game and she'd attended matches in V.I.P boxes before and it was always enjoyable. Plus as Draco said, it was a good family activity. Even her parents enjoyed the game, even though they weren't regular match goers. Draco had introduced her father to quidditch years ago, and in return Richard had turned Draco into a bit of a cricket nut.

"Kids?" Draco checked.

"Of course," Scorpius replied through his mouthful of popcorn.

"Yes please," Cassiopeia said eagerly.

"Scarlett?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, it sounds good," Scarlett replied, giving her father a smile. "Quidditch with Uncle Blaise is always fun."

"That's because Uncle Blaise is fun," Scorpius said. "I want to be just like him when I grow up."

"I hope he doesn't mean his lifestyle," Hermione whispered to her husband. "I hope he's meaning being a professional quidditch player."

"What, you don't want out son to become a serial womanizer?" Draco chuckled lightly.

"If that's the road he chooses, I'd still love him," Hermione replied. "But I admit I would prefer it if he had more staying power than Blaise."

"From what Blaise says, he's got plenty of staying power," Draco joked.

"Not that sort of staying power," Hermione laughed. "I meant the sort where he could commit to one witch."

"Never going to happen," Draco replied. "Blaise is a bachelor and loving it. Now I better go and let him know we're accepting his offer to join him. Should I contact our parents now, or wait until tomorrow?"

"Let's do it tomorrow," Hermione said. "Just go and give Blaise a quick floo. We'll get the film ready."

While Draco headed off to let Blaise know they would be accompanying him to the quidditch, Hermione got Scorpius to get the film ready for his return. By the time the film was ready to play, Draco still hadn't returned. Hermione had just gotten up to go and check on her husband when she heard the door to the floo room open and his footsteps coming across the hallway. Settling back down in her seat, Hermione gave Scorpius the nod to start the film just as Draco reached the doorway. However, before he had a chance to settle down with his family the front doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Draco said with a sigh.

"Should I pause the film, Dad?" Scorpius asked.

"It's okay, I'll just be a few seconds," Draco replied. He was figuring it was just someone from the village, as his parents used the floo when they were visiting and Hermione's parents never just turned up unannounced.

Hermione had also decided whoever was at the door was someone from the village, although when Draco opened the door she didn't hear a voice she recognised. In fact she couldn't hear much of anything that was being said. She could hear the low hum of voices from the hallway, but they weren't loud enough to be heard over the film which was now starting.

"I said get lost," Draco suddenly cried loud enough for Hermione to hear him.

Hermione frowned at the tone of her husband's voice, and she was further stunned when she heard him issue a colourful threat.

"Take one more step and I'll hex your balls off and shove them down your throat."

"Who is that at the door?" Scarlett asked, also shocked by Draco's words.

"I have no idea," Hermione replied as she got to her feet. "But whoever it is, your father isn't a fan."

"I got that," Scarlett chuckled.

Heading to see what was going on, Hermione headed into the hallway and immediately wished she hadn't. Standing at the door, trying to get past an irate Draco was Harry. Even though it had been twenty years since she'd last seen him, Hermione recognised her former friend in an instant. He hadn't actually changed that much.

"Hermione," Harry cried when he spotted his former friend. "I just want to talk."

"And I told you there's no way," Draco responded, giving Harry a shove and sending him stumbling backwards. "Piss off and leave my family alone, Potter."

"But they're not your family," Harry retorted. "At least not all of them. Scarlett is my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Hermione screeched, snapping out of her shock and advancing on Harry, who was now back trying to get past Draco. "You don't have a daughter, Harry. That's what you told me after Scarlett was born. Or have you forgotten that little letter?"

"I haven't forgotten, but things are different now," Harry protested.

"No, things are not different," Hermione hissed. "If it hadn't been for Scarlett and James accidentally meeting, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have even given Scarlett a second thought."

"That's not true, I thought about her all the time," Harry argued.

"Yet you ignored her for nineteen years," Hermione retorted. "You're not her father, Harry. Draco is her father."

"That git is not her father, I am," Harry snarled, glaring hatefully at Draco.

"No, you're not," A voice from across the hall said coldly.

Hermione turned around to find Scarlett standing in the doorway leading to the front room, Scorpius and Cassiopeia hovering protectively behind her. Part of Hermione wanted to tell her daughter to leave, but she knew Scarlett was an adult and could look after herself. Besides, it could be just what she needed to confront the man who'd fathered her.

"Scorp, Cassie, go back to your film," Hermione said gently.

"No way, we're staying here," Scorpius replied. "With our sister," He added pointedly as he took hold of Scarlett's hand.

"Now do you get the picture, Potter?" Draco asked smugly. "We're a family, all five of us. There's no place here for you, and more importantly no-one wants you here."

"Please just let me explain," Harry pleaded, his green eyes fixated on the young witch who looked so much like her mother.

"I don't need any explanations from you," Scarlett spat. "I know what happened."

"No, you know what you've been told," Harry corrected. "There's always two sides to every story."

"There could be a million sides to the story, and I still wouldn't be interested," Scarlett said firmly. "Nothing you can say will ever make up for the fact you abandoned me. You tried to force Mum into getting rid of me, and when that failed you walked away from us. I've seen the letter you sent Mum after she wrote to tell you she'd had me. In that letter you claim you don't have a daughter, well guess what, you don't have a daughter. At least you don't have me as a daughter. You are not my father, you're nothing but a sperm donor. Draco Malfoy is my father, and he's ten times the man you are."

"Please, Scarlett," Harry begged.

"No," Scarlett interrupted, not letting him finish whatever he wanted to say. "I am not interested in you or anything you have to say. This is my family right here, and you're not part of it. You weren't there for me growing up, and you're not going to be there for me now. I want nothing to do with you, so leave me the hell alone."

Without waiting for Harry to say anything else, Scarlett whirled around and wrapping her arms around her two siblings she escorted them back into the front room and slammed the door behind them. Harry winced at the sound of the door slamming, while Draco just looked proud of how well his daughter had handled herself. As for Hermione, she was looking at Harry with contempt.

"Satisfied now?" She spat. "It's too late, Harry. Scarlett doesn't need or want you in her life."

"And whether you like it or not, she is my daughter," Draco added. "I've raised her since she was child and I love her more than you ever could. So do yourself a favour Potter and bugger off before I lose my temper and make you regret ever coming here."

"And don't come back," Hermione said, moving to stand beside her husband. "I'm going to tell you what I told Ginny yesterday, stay away from my family or you'll regret it. Go back to your own life and stay out of ours."

"Ginny?" Harry frowned. "What does she have to do with anything?"

"You mean you don't know?" Hermione asked in surprise. "I thought she would have confronted you when I told her that you'd know about Scarlett the entire time."

"You've spoken to Ginny," Harry stated in a shocked voice. "When?"

"Yesterday when she paid a very unpleasant visit to my work," Hermione replied. "Talk to your wife if you want the details. I'm done, Harry. I never want to see you or Ginny again. Just leave us alone, it's the best thing for all of us."

Using the fact Harry was still reeling from the revelation Ginny had been to see Hermione, Draco gave him a not so friendly shove to get him off the doorstep and slammed the door in his face. Draco then locked the door, and he and Hermione returned to the front room. They didn't even look back when Harry knocked on the door again.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Draco asked Scarlett as Hermione shut the door to the front room, and blocked out the sound of Harry's knocking.

"I guess," Scarlett whispered.

"No, she's not," Scorpius answered with a frown. "She's been shaking ever since she saw Potter. If I see him again, I'll make him regret hurting my sister."

"It's okay Scorp, I don't need you to look out for me," Scarlett said with a fond smile.

"It's what brothers do," Scorpius stated firmly.

"Looking out for each other is what families do," Draco said as he perched on the sofa beside Scarlett, while Hermione sat on her other side and wrapped her in her arms.

"I'm sorry Scar," Hermione whispered. "I never thought for one minute that he would turn up here."

"I think it took us all by surprise," Draco said.

"Do you think he genuinely wanted to get to know Scarlett?" Cassiopeia asked with a concerned frown.

"No," Scarlett replied with an inelegant snort. "If that was what he really wanted, he would have been in touch years ago. He's only here because I met Jamie. Maybe he feels guilty or something, but his appearance here isn't about me. Not that it matters though, he's gone now and that's the end of it. I never want to hear the name Harry Potter again."

"We can do that," Draco vowed, giving his eldest daughter a hug. "Now why don't we get back to our evening? Haven't we got a film to watch?"

As the family settled back down to watch their film, Hermione noted that Harry had stopped knocking on the door. Hopefully he had gone home, and hopefully his visit would be the last the family would see of the Potters. With any luck life could now get back to normal for the Malfoys.


	19. Chapter 19

It was a beautiful summer afternoon as the Malfoys arrived at the quidditch stadium alongside Blaise. The entire family was present, including Lucius, Narcissa, Jean and Richard, who'd all been more than happy to accept Blaise's kind invitation. Since the match was an afternoon one, the family had gone out for lunch before taking a port key to the stadium.

"I love this place," Blaise declared as they reached the stadium, and thanks to Blaise's connections, were able to enter through a side door rather than waiting with the crowds. "I think this was my favourite club to play for."

"It was certainly the one you played for the longest," Draco replied.

The club they were currently going to watch play was the Quiberon Quafflepunchers, where Blaise had spent several years of his career. The team were one of the best in the country, regularly winning the league over the last few years. They were also one of the most famous teams in the country and they were well known for their flamboyant play and their even more flamboyant bright pink uniform.

"You played for this team?" Richard asked with a frown as Blaise led them into a stadium, which boasted large posters of the current team in their unique uniform.

"They are the best in the league," Blaise replied.

"But they play in pink," Richard retorted. Try as he might, he just couldn't imagine Draco's best friend in a hot pink quidditch uniform.

"Terrible, isn't it," Lucius tutted. "Although I have to say, even though the uniform is pink, it's not nearly as bad as the Cannons from back home. I tell you Richard, if you ever have to watch them you'll need sunglasses. I've never seen so much orange in my life."

"The Cannons are pretty garish," Blaise agreed. "And yes, the Quafflepunchers have bright uniforms, but at least this team can play."

"Have you ever thought of staying involved with the team?" Hermione asked. Since retiring a few seasons ago, Blaise had been living the life of leisure, although he still had numerous contacts in the world of quidditch.

"They did ask me to think about taking over the coaching role," Blaise admitted. "But it's a big job, and I just wasn't sure I was up to it."

"Of course you would have been," Narcissa said. "You never have enough confidence in yourself, Blaise. Of course you could be a coach. You were a great player, and I'm sure you would do wonders for the team."

"Funny, confidence is not something I would have said Blaise was lacking," Hermione joked.

"It doesn't matter now," Blaise replied with a chuckle. "I said no, so they looked elsewhere. From what I hear, they've been in talks with the potential new coach all summer. In fact, I'm fairly sure they're hoping to get him to sign contracts today."

"It's such a shame," Narcissa said with a sigh. "You could have blown a great opportunity, Blaise."

"More will come my way, Narcissa," Blaise replied with an unconcerned shrug as they reached the top floor of the stadium, where the V.I.P box they were using was located.

Pushing open the doors, Blaise revealed the box that would be all theirs for the duration of the game. The main portion of the box was indoors, with two giant screens mounted to the wall to show the action on the pitch. Alongside several comfy chairs and sofas, sat a table with finger food and a second table with drinks, all of which were included in the package. The room then opened out into a large balcony, with comfortable chairs, which overlooked the pitch itself. The balcony was far enough out in the open so that you got the atmosphere from the match, but it was still their private balcony. The only people you were likely to see where those in the V.I.P box next to the one they were in, as the balconies of the boxes were only separated by a small barrier.

"Dive in, kids," Blaise said, turning to Scorpius and Cassiopeia who were eying the bowls of sweets with eager eyes.

"With moderation," Jean called. Even though she was long retired, she was still a dentist and she made sure her grandchildren all took care of their teeth.

After grabbing a few sweets, Scorpius and Cassiopeia headed out onto the balcony to watch the stadium fill up. Grabbing a drink, Scarlett popped out to take in the view while the adults settled down inside until the match was about to begin. A few minutes later, Scarlett returned from the balcony and settled down next to Draco.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" He asked, wrapping his arm around his daughter. For the last couple of days, ever since Harry's rude appearance at the house, Scarlett had been quiet and Draco was worried about his eldest daughter.

"Just thinking about my healer training," Scarlett replied. "Next year I can choose to specialise, but it would mean another year's training."

Even though Draco didn't think healer training was as the heart of Scarlett's recent quietness, he didn't argue. Scarlett knew that he was there for her if she wanted to talk, and if she wasn't ready to discuss what was really bothering her, Draco wasn't going to push her into talking. Instead, he asked her about her training and listened as she outlined her options.

While Draco and Scarlett were talking, and Hermione's parents chatted to Draco's parents, Hermione chatted to Blaise about the offer to coach his former team and why he turned it down. Even though Blaise made out it wasn't a big deal, Hermione quickly realised that her husband's best friend had been afraid of letting down the team he cared about so much, and that was why he turned the job offer down.

"Maybe you could look for a coaching job elsewhere," Hermione suggested, wondering if Blaise would be more willing to take the job if it involved coaching a team he wasn't emotionally invested in.

"Nah, this was my chance and I blew it," Blaise replied with a shrug. "I'll just have to hope this new guy they've got lined up is good and that he can keep the team winning. I'll just have to settle for being one of their former star players, and all the perks that go along with being an ambassador for the team."

Blaise had barely begun to list the perks of being a former quidditch player of the best team in the French league, when Cassiopeia wandered over to them asking when the match was going to start.

"In about ten minutes," Blaise replied. "Don't worry Cassie, we'll be out to join you soon."

"I'll wait in here until then," Cassiopeia said, grabbing a carton of fresh juice.

"I thought you were hanging out with Scorp," Hermione said to her youngest daughter.

"He's chatting to the boy in the next box," Cassiopeia answered with a shrug.

"And did you not want to make a new friend?" Hermione asked.

"Not really, he looked like a bore and he talked like one too," Cassiopeia replied with a sigh. "But you know Scorp, he's got no taste. All his friends are nerds."

Hermione stifled a laugh at the thought of her son's friends being labelled nerds. It was true, Scorpius was more academic than his younger sister and he took studying more seriously than Cassiopeia, but he and his friends were far from nerds. In fact most of them were on the quidditch team, and as they were reaching the age where girls were starting to appear on their radar, Hermione expected Scorpius to be as sought after as his father had been in his youth.

Glancing towards the balcony, Hermione could just say see Scorpius as he chatted to his new friend. As she always was when she saw her children interacting with their peers, she was glad they'd inherited better social skills than she'd ever had at their age. Even though Hermione had gone through Hogwarts with two best friends, they'd been pretty much the only friends she'd had. Sure, she'd been friendly enough with some of the other Gryffindors and some of the other Weasleys, but Harry and Ron had been the only true friends she'd ever had. Not that it had worked out too well for her as she hadn't spoken to either of them in twenty years, unless you counted the recent altercation with Harry. Hopefully, her children would make better friends than she had and hopefully in twenty years' time they would still be close with some of their oldest friends, like Draco and Blaise were.

No sooner had Hermione started to think about how her children made friends easier than she did then Scorpius slouched into the box with a scowl on his face.

"What's wrong?" Narcissa asked her grandson.

"I think I've upset the woman in the next box," Scorpius replied. "But I don't know how. All I was doing was talking to the boy next door and his Mum suddenly appeared. She took one look at me, mumbled something about bloody Malfoys and dragged Albus away."

"Albus?" Blaise frowned.

"As in Albus Dumbledore," Hermione whispered, dread pooling in the pit of her stomach. She only knew one person who would name his son after their former Headmaster, and that was Harry.

"As in Harry bloody Potter," Draco snarled, putting two and two together like his wife.

"Holy shit, are you saying Potter and his brood are in the next box?" Blaise gasped.

"It seems that way," Hermione replied. "What do you want to do, Scarlett? We can go home if you want."

"No," Scarlett replied with a stubborn nod. "We're here to watch the quidditch, and have a family afternoon. I won't let him ruin the day. We stay and we ignore them."

Before anyone got a chance to reply, Scarlett turned and strode out onto the balcony. Picking a seat in the centre of the balcony, she settled down and kept her focus on the pitch. Following Scarlett's lead, the rest of the family made their way out onto the balcony. Scorpius and Cassiopeia settled in seats right at the front of the balcony along with Blaise. Draco sat down next to Scarlett, while Hermione settled down next to her husband. Lucius settled himself on his granddaughter's other side with Richard sitting next to him, while Narcissa and Jean sat next to Hermione, forming a small barricade between their family and the next box.

Even though no-one mentioned the occupants of the next box, there was a tension on the balcony and every person was aware when people began to file out onto the adjoining balcony. Albus and his sister appeared first, followed by a couple of officials from the team. Harry and Ginny then emerged onto the balcony, accompanied by one of the senior members of the board, Kristian Hoffman.

"Ah Blaise," Kristian greeted, his face lighting up when he spotted one of their former players. "How are you enjoying the day?"

"We're having a great time," Blaise replied, getting to his feet and heading over to shake hands with the wizard.

"Let me introduce you to Harry Potter," Kristian said. "We're trying to persuade Harry to take the coach's job. Harry, this is one of our star players, or should I say former player these days, Blaise Zabini."

"We're already acquainted," Blaise replied frostily, making no move to shake Harry's hand.

"Oh." Kristian looked between Blaise and Harry, not sure what to say in the light of such obvious discomfort. In all the years he'd known Blaise, he'd never known him to take against someone, but it was very obvious that he detested Harry for some reason.

"Enjoy the game," Blaise said to the French wizard as the announcer started to announce the teams.

"You too," Kristian replied, still unsure what was going on as Blaise give Harry a final glare before returning to his friends.

As Blaise settled into his seat, the Potters also took their seats and even though Hermione had her head facing forward she could feel Harry's eyes on them. Out of the corner of her eye, she witnessed Harry and Ginny have a hissed conversation, before Ginny glared at her husband and all but turned her back on him as she swivelled round in her seat. With Ginny no longer paying attention, Harry's focus returned to the Malfoys and it didn't take Hermione long to realise he was looking at Scarlett, who was sitting cosily in-between Draco and Lucius. From the frown that appeared on Harry's face, he clearly didn't like the situation, but Hermione didn't care. It served him right to see Scarlett happily ensconced in the bosom on the Malfoy family, since she was after all, a Malfoy.

Refusing to let Harry ruin the afternoon, Hermione refocused on the teams emerging and play getting underway. As the match got started, she could hear her father and Lucius laughing over the pink uniform of the Quafflepunchers. Predictably Blaise got into a debate with the two men over the uniform and within five minutes everyone had forgotten about the Potters and were laughing merrily at the antics of Lucius, Richard and Blaise. Even Scarlett didn't seem bothered by Harry's presence nearby as she laughed at her two grandfathers and Blaise.

"You three are crazy," Scarlett giggled. She was well aware her grandfathers had deliberately wound Blaise up to get her mind off the next box, and she was grateful for everyone to just carrying on and not letting their afternoon get spoiled.

"What a thing to say about your grandfathers, Scar," Lucius gasped in fake outrage. "We are not crazy, we are respectable old men."

"Did you just call yourself an old man?" Draco laughed.

"Of course not," Lucius denied. "I said we were mature."

"Funny, I heard old," Draco shot back.

"Me too," Scarlett agreed. "But don't worry, I love you both," She added, grinning at Lucius and Richard.

The bantering in the box continued as the match unfolded, but after about half an hour, Hermione got to her feet and headed back inside. There was only so much quidditch she could take, and it was extra stressful as she was constantly aware of Harry's presence in the next box.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked as he followed his wife inside.

"I'm fine," Hermione replied, looking over Draco's shoulder and finding Blaise had taken Draco's seat next to Scarlett.

"I've got to hand it to her, she's not letting this get her down," Draco said, turning around and following his wife's gaze. "If that was me, I would have hopped over that barrier and landed one on Potter's nose."

"You and a few other people," Hermione chuckled. "Luckily, our Scarlett is more composed than that. She's not going to let him ruin her afternoon."

"And don't you let him do it either," Draco urged his wife. "Don't hide in here, Hermione. Don't let him win. Show him we're not bothered by him and that he has no place in our lives."

"That's easier said than done," Hermione admitted. "I can feel him watching Scarlett and I just want to yell at him to back off. You can practically feel the animosity dripping off him, and it annoys me because he has no right. He has no right to frown on the fact Scarlett is a Malfoy."

"We just have to take a leaf from Scarlett's book and rise above the tosser," Draco said. "If she refuses to let him get to her, we have to do the same."

"Just give me five minutes," Hermione said.

Draco gave Hermione a quick kiss, before heading back out onto the balcony and taking a seat at the front of the box with their youngest children. Hermione smiled at the sight of all her family gathered on the balcony, before she left the box and popped to the bathroom. As she was returning from the bathroom, she noticed a few of the officials from the team leaving the box Harry and his family had been sitting in. Hoping that meant the entire family had departed, Hermione hurried back into their box. Sadly, it was the opposite and not only were the Potters still present in their box, but from the sounds of things it looked as though the tension had been broken and insults were being hurled.

"What the hell is going on?" Hermione demanded angrily as she strode out onto the balcony.

"Keep your bratty kids away from my children," Ginny hissed at Hermione.

"Don't you dare call my grandson a brat," Narcissa seethed. "It was your son who waved to him, Scorpius was just being polite and waved back. There was no need for you to lose it like the banshee you are."

"Harry," Ginny wailed. "Don't just stand there while that cow insults me."

"Watch who you're calling names, Weasley," Lucius hissed in a deadly voice as he glared at Ginny.

"For crying out loud, all of you grow up," Scarlett said firmly, before turning her attention to Harry. "If you don't mind, we're trying to have a family day here, so could you please keep to your own box and leave us alone. And while you're on, stop watching me, it won't get you anywhere."

"Sorry," Harry mumbled.

"Why are you apologising to her?" Ginny screeched at her husband. "We have every right to be here."

"No-one is saying otherwise," Hermione said with a sigh. "We'd just like you to respect our privacy and leave us alone."

"Don't worry, you'll not see us again after today," Ginny replied. "We're going back home tonight, and we're never stepping foot in France again."

"Thank god," Jean muttered, hoping that the Potters departure would mean all this fighting and disturbance would soon be over.

"Now that's settled, perhaps we could get back to the game," Blaise suggested. "We've just scored again, and it was a good goal."

"Sorry Blaise," Narcissa said with a smile.

As the Malfoys tried to return their attention to the game in hand, Ginny stalked over to sit with her two youngest children. Hermione heard Ginny block their questions about what was going on, however as she turned to get back to the game she noticed Harry was still standing staring at Scarlett. Scarlett noticed it at the same time, and Hermione saw her daughter's temper flare as she turned on Harry.

"What now?" Scarlett hissed. "Can't you just leave me alone?"

"I can't," Harry whispered. "You're my daughter, and I can't stand to watch you with Malfoys."

"Newsflash, I am a Malfoy," Scarlett retorted as both of Harry's children let out audible gasps at their father's admission.

"No, you're not," Harry insisted. "You're not a true Malfoy."

"Yes, I am," Scarlett replied. "My name is Scarlett Malfoy, my mother is Hermione Malfoy and my father is Draco Malfoy. I am a Malfoy in every way that counts. You, Harry Potter, are nothing but a sperm donor. You are nothing to do with me. You are a pathetic worm who got my mother pregnant, then abandoned both her and me. You are not my father, you are nothing."

"Go Scar," Blaise said with a smirk as Scarlett turned and headed into the V.I.P box with her head held high.

"Now do you see Harry? There's nothing here for you," Hermione said, before she also turned and followed her daughter into the box.

"Just stay away Potter," Draco ordered, before he went to check on his wife and daughter, leaving a shell shocked Harry standing looking into the Malfoys V.I.P box.

"My daughter may have prevented me from harming you when you left her pregnant and alone, but if I see you again, I will cause you considerable pain," Richard said as he stepped forward to confront the wizard who'd almost destroyed his daughter. "This is not your family."

"No, this is my family," Lucius said, stepping up beside Richard. "Correction, our family. I know Draco wants to cause you severe pain, as does Hermione. Chances are, Scarlett also wants to hurt you, but none of them will because they don't want more trouble. I'm not so fussed about trouble, and as I'm sure you're aware I can cause a lot of pain, Potter. I'm not a wizard to be trifled with. I can assure you if you come anywhere near our family again, Richard and I will hunt you down and castrate you in the most painful way possible."

"Ouch," Blaise muttered with a wince.

"Ouch indeed," Lucius said, his firm gaze never leaving Harry's face. "Now bugger off, Potter."

Harry gulped audibly as he backed away from the barrier separating the two boxes. Whirling around he found Ginny and the children had already vanished back into the box. Scurrying after them, he ensured his family left the stadium safely before politely declining the job offer and rushing off to join them. The Potters then left France that evening, vowing to never return to the country. Harry also gave up on trying to speak to Scarlett as he accepted that the child he'd fathered with Hermione didn't want to know him. Not that he could really blame her, as deep down he was well aware of what a bastard he'd been to both her and her mother. He just had to let Scarlett go and live her life as a Malfoy, no matter how much the thought turned his stomach. Twenty years ago he'd lost his chance to be a father to her, and it was far too late to change things now.

* * *

 **A/N – Just the epilogue to go now. I'm sure some people would like to have heard more from the Potters, but I am thinking about sometime in the future doing an additional short accompanying story to this one focusing on the Potters and the fallout from what happened in France. But for now, Children is my priority and I'm trying to finish year 7 as well as finish some other stories.**


	20. Epilogue

**Two years later.**

When a beautiful grey owl soared into her kitchen, Scarlett untied the letter around it's ankle with shaking hands. She'd been fully expecting the letter, and she knew inside would be the final results of her healer training. Over the last few months she'd passed all the practical training, but to officially qualify she had to wait for her exam results of the last written exam she'd taken the previous week. Scarlett had been pretty sure the exam had gone well, but now the results were in her hand she was plagued with doubt. Suddenly, she wasn't as confident that she'd passed the exam and could take up the job offer she'd already received from the hospital she'd done the majority of her training at.

"If you want to find out your results, you're going to have to open the letter, Scar," A voice called from behind her.

Whirling around, Scarlett found her boyfriend, Liam, leaning against the kitchen door. Liam was a tall, handsome dark blonde wizard with sparkling blue eyes whom Scarlett had met nearly eighteen months ago at an art exhibit she'd been attending at her mother's museum. After dating for a year, they'd moved in together six months ago and Scarlett couldn't be happier. She'd fallen head over heels for the charming blond wizard and she very much pictured her future with him.

"Well, are you going to open it or not?" Liam pressed as he walked over to Scarlett.

"What if I've failed?" Scarlett whispered.

"You don't know how to fail," Liam said with an affectionate smile. "Just open the results and stop worrying."

Taking a deep breath, Scarlett tore into the letter. Opening it up, she quickly scanned the results, her face breaking into a wide grin as she saw she'd aced her exam. She was now officially a healer, and she could accept the job offer she had waiting for her. With an excited squeal, she threw her arms around Liam's neck and gave him a searing kiss.

"I passed," She declared excitedly.

"Of course you did," Liam replied with a grin. "I never had any doubt."

"Really?" Scarlett asked with a chuckle.

"Really," Liam confirmed, nodding his head. "In fact, to prove how much faith I had in you, I've got a present for you."

Flicking his wand, Liam summoned an envelope from his bedside drawer and handed it to Scarlett. When Scarlett opened the envelope she found a hotel reservation for a fancy spa hotel in the south of France for the weekend.

"You're taking me away for the weekend?" Scarlett questioned.

"I am," Liam replied. "I thought we could celebrate in style."

"That sounds great, but my family will want to celebrate my results as well," Scarlett said. "Knowing my Mum, she'll plan something the second I tell her the news."

"That's all in hand," Liam said with a grin. "Tonight we're all going out to your favourite restaurant to celebrate."

"You've already got this planned as well?" Scarlett questioned.

"I have," Liam said. "I've told you Scarlett, I had complete faith in you, we all did. The weekend away has been booked for a few weeks, as has the table at the restaurant."

"And just who is going to be at this celebratory dinner?" Scarlett asked.

"Everyone," Lima answered. "Your parents, your brother and sister, your grandparents and Blaise. All the family will be there."

"Wow, you really have thought of everything," Scarlett chuckled.

"Not quite, you still need something to wear," Liam said. "I'm afraid you'll have to sort that yourself."

"That I can manage," Scarlett said with a grin. "I have to go and give Mum and Dad the good news, but after that I can go shopping. I can also grab some things for the weekend. There's a new lingerie shop I wanted to try, maybe I can pick up something there."

"Sounds good to me," Liam replied with a wolfish grin.

Giving her boyfriend a quick kiss, and thanking him again for the weekend and the dinner he'd organised, an ecstatic Scarlett headed off to get dressed. Once she was dressed, she headed off home to give her parents the news. Even though it was the middle of the week, she knew her parents knew what day her results were expected, so she fully expected to find them both at home waiting for her arrival. Sure enough when she let herself into the house, she found both her parents were still at home. Scorpius and Cassiopeia were also at home as it was the summer holidays.

"Hey, everyone," She called as she entered the kitchen where everyone was gathered.

"Morning sweetheart," Hermione greeted with a smile. "Do you want some breakfast, I've made pancakes."

"Is that what you call them?" Scorpius muttered, poking at the lumpy pancakes on his plate.

"Thanks I'll pass," Scarlett replied with a chuckle as Hermione gave Scorpius a mock glare. "But a cup of coffee would be great."

"One cup coming up," Hermione said, waving her wand and getting the beverage made in twice the time it would have taken her to make manually. When the coffee was ready, she handed it to her daughter and gave her an expectant look.

"Put her out of her misery, Scar," Draco chuckled. "She's dying to find out your results. Even though we all know you've passed."

"Don't jinx it," Hermione hissed at her husband.

"It's not jinxing anything, Scarlett already has her results," Draco pointed out. "I'm just letting her know that we have every faith in her."

"Of course we do," Hermione said to her daughter, not wanting her to think that she hadn't believed she would pass.

"I know you've all been preparing for me to pass," Scarlett replied. "And I have, with flying colours. I am now an officially qualified healer."

"That's great, Scarlett," Hermione praised as she gave her daughter a hug.

"Well done, sweetheart," Draco said, also giving his daughter a hug.

"Yeah, way to go Scar," Cassiopeia said with a smile.

"Congrats," Scorpius added.

"Now we need to celebrate," Hermione said.

"Liam mentioned dinner tonight," Scarlett said. "It sounds great."

"And then he's taking you away for the weekend, isn't he?" Hermione checked.

"Yes, he's booked us into a spa for the weekend," Scarlett answered. "In fact, I've got some things I need to get for the weekend. I think a morning shopping is in order for me."

"Can I come?" Cassiopeia asked. "I've got some birthday money left and I fancy a new outfit for tonight."

"Of course you can come," Scarlett replied, before turning to her mother. "Mum do you want to come as well?"

"I can't, I have to get into work for a few hours," Hermione replied. "But you two have fun."

Half an hour later, Scarlett and Cassiopeia headed off to do some shopping, with them both having some extra money in their purses thanks to Draco giving them each a treat. Even though there was eight years between the two sisters, with Scarlett being twenty one and Cassiopeia just thirteen, the two witches were close and they had a great morning together. Scarlett helped Cassiopeia pick out a new dress that wasn't too old for her, but also didn't make her look like a child. As for Cassiopeia she watched what Scarlett was buying with interest, eager for the day when she was buying fancy adult clothes, posh perfume and designer make-up.

After a fun morning together, the two sisters had lunch before Scarlett dropped her sister back off at home. Although, instead of going home herself, Scarlett just dropped her bags off at the flat before she headed back out to a small café where she had a prior appointment.

Entering the café, Scarlett paused when she spotted the wizard she'd arranged to meet, her half-brother, James. The pair had been back in touch for just over a year, and James had come to visit her a few times over the last fourteen months. Initially things had been slightly awkward given what had happened last time they'd met, but they'd pressed through the awkward stage and they were now good friends. On his last visit he'd even brought Lily with him, and she knew Albus also wanted to meet her when he was seventeen. Scarlett wasn't sure if she would ever have a close relationship with her other half siblings, but she knew James would always be a part of her life, even if they were more like friends than siblings.

After events of two years ago, Scarlett had very much carried on with her life as though she'd never met Harry. As for James, the summer in France had changed everything for him and his family. By the time the rest of the family returned from their holiday Albus and Lily had known about Scarlett, albeit they didn't know all the gory details until they spoke to James as Harry and Ginny wouldn't tell them the full story. Albus and Lily were equally as disgusted with their parents as their older brother, and like James they were horrified that they'd had a half-sister that no-one had told them about.

In time the three Potter siblings had come to accept that Harry and Ginny had never set out to hurt them, but it was too late, the damage had been done. James had never fully reconciled with his family and these days he barely saw his parents. The second she turned seventeen, Lily also left the family home and Albus had made his intentions clear to follow in his siblings footsteps. Of course, Ginny and Harry had tried their best to stop their family falling apart, but it was all in vain. Two years after the revelations James and Lily were gone, and Albus would be following them in the next couple of years. The problems had also led to problems in the pair's marriage, but by this point James was past caring if his parents split up or not.

Making her way over to the table, Scarlett smiled as she saw James flirting with the pretty waitress. Unlike her, James hadn't settled down and it seemed like every time they spoke he had a new girlfriend. Initially Scarlett had been worried he'd been carrying torch for her, but she'd quickly realised that James had gotten over her, he just liked the single life and wasn't ready to settle down.

James smiled widely when he spotted Scarlett approaching him, and he got up to give her a hug. "How are you?"

"Excellent," Scarlett replied with a grin. "As of today, I'm officially a healer."

"That's brilliant," James replied, grinning back at his half-sister. "I take it you have a job lined up?"

"I do," Scarlett replied with a nod. "I'll accept it tomorrow. And how about you, how's your quidditch going?"

"Not bad," James replied.

Since returning to England and distancing himself from his parents, James had sorted some trials out for himself and thrown himself into chasing his dream of playing professional quidditch. He'd then signed with the Ballycastle Bats and begun carving out a career for himself as a chaser. Of course he was still compared to Harry, especially since his father had taken a coaching job with his old team, but slowly people were coming to accept that James wasn't Harry, and they were thankfully judging him on his own merits. Of course, rumours still swirled about the rift that had torn the Potter family apart, but since it was private family business, neither James nor Harry spoke about the problems in their family.

"I'm so pleased, Jamie," Scarlett said with a smile. "Let's hope you get the recognition you deserve. You never know, you might even make the national team."

"Now that would be great," James agreed with a grin. "You know, in a funny way I'm pleased you never got the chance to ask your uncle to fix me up with a team over here. I love playing for the Bats, and even though I enjoy the odd trip over to France, I think I prefer living at home."

"Anytime you change your mind, just let me know and I'll get Uncle Blaise to help you," Scarlett said. "You never know he could be even more help now that he's the manager of the Quafflepunchers. His team might need a new chaser one day."

"We'll see," James laughed. "Now enough about your uncle, I want to hear all about you. What have you been up to since we last spoke?"

For the next couple of hours, Scarlett and James spent their time catching up before Scarlett had to go. She had a family celebration to get to, and she wasn't going to miss it for anything.

* * *

"To Scarlett," Lucius cried, raising his glass in toast to his granddaughter.

"Scarlett," Everyone chorused.

The Malfoy party had taken over an entire corner of Scarlett's favourite restaurant as they celebrated Scarlett passing her exams and officially becoming a healer. Around the table was everyone Scarlett truly loved, her parents, her siblings, her grandparents, Blaise and Liam.

"Don't they look so good together," Hermione whispered to Draco as she watched Scarlett laughing at something her boyfriend had said and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"They do make an attractive pair," Draco replied with a nod.

"I'm just pleased she's so happy," Hermione replied as her husband snaked his arm around her waist.

"She'll be even happier by the end of the weekend," Draco predicted.

"Why?" Hermione asked, looking up at her husband. "What do you know?"

"I'll tell you, but keep it to yourself," Draco whispered. "We don't want to spoil the surprise."

"What surprise?" Hermione hissed.

"Liam asked me for permission to propose to Scarlett over the weekend," Draco confided. Sensing his wife was going to let out a lout cry of delight, he quickly pressed his finger over her lips. "Quiet, Hermione. Don't ruin his surprise."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Hermione asked.

"He only came and asked my permission this afternoon," Draco replied with a shrug.

"And obviously you gave it," Hermione stated, grinning widely as she looked across the table to where her oblivious daughter was sitting.

"Obviously," Draco retorted with a roll of his eyes. "Or should I have said no?"

"Of course not," Hermione replied. "Although I do want to know one thing. Did you ask my Dad's permission before you proposed?"

"Of course," Draco answered with a nod. "It was the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever had to do."

"Even more nerve wracking then the proposal itself?" Hermione teased.

"Well, if you remember the proposal didn't exactly go to plan," Draco chuckled. "I didn't have time to be nervous, because everything went wrong."

"Just because it wasn't perfect, doesn't mean it was wrong," Hermione said. "I said yes, didn't I?"

"And I'm thankful for that every day of my life," Draco replied sincerely as he leant down and pressed his lips against his wife's.

"Me too," Hermione whispered.

She was forever grateful that Draco had walked into her life and not only swept her off her feet, but Scarlett too. Her entire life change when Draco entered it, and Hermione couldn't be happier. Her adult years may not have gotten off to the easiest of starts with a teenage pregnancy and an absentee father of her child, but everything had turned out for the best. She'd ended up with a husband she adored, Scarlett had gotten the father she deserved and together they'd created a loving family which they'd added to over the years. All in all Hermione's life was very fulfilling, and with Scarlett getting married and her other two children rapidly growing up, a new chapter was only just beginning.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **A/N – Thanks for reading, and for the overwhelming response I got for this story. I'm so amazed by the amount of reviews I got for every chapter, and I'm so pleased so many people seemed to enjoy Scarlett Dragon. Thanks again.**


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